Seems Like Old Times
by Jude Rigby
Summary: On an idyllic summer's day Castle and Beckett discover a murder has occurred and are asked to investigate, discovering disgruntled exes and historical societies. With their added consultants they do their best to solve the case in time to celebrate the 4th of July with their guests in the Hamptons. Thirtieth in the Beware of Darkness series. Caskett pairing. Complete
1. Prologue- To My Heart

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Since this chapter is so short I'll post the next chapter in a few hours, so if anyone wants to read more look out of it then!

A/N #2: The title of this story is the title of an unreleased song by Paul McCartney. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Poison Arrow_ by the band ABC and Mark Lickley, from the band's album _The Lexicon of Love_.

To My Heart

A heavy, satisfied sigh filled the room and the woman said, "We are going to get into so much trouble."

"I told you we won't," the man with her on the mattress said. He turned onto his side and then kissed her tenderly before saying, "Come on you were okay coming here in the first place."

"No, you had to convince me," the woman replied before he was kissing at her bare shoulders. She sighed and said, "Okay, but we should go."

"Not yet," the man replied, cupping her breast. He kissed her on the lips and pulled away slowly before he laid her down.

The empty room became a witness to the pair's lovemaking for a second time before they were calming down after crying out to each other. Laying on their backs they both took in the work being done and the woman smiled before she spoke.

"You know… this room doesn't look too bad," she told her lover.

"Told you but really it's still down to the boards," the man replied with a smile. "It'll be better I bet once they finish."

"And the bed?" the woman asked.

"Mattress; told you I wanted to surprise you," the man replied. He sat up and said, "Where do you think this should go?"

"Over there, right by the window," the woman said after sitting up.

"Knew I could count on you," the man said. He started to lean over to her before they were jolted apart by a sound they couldn't place.

"Is that someone outside?" the woman asked her lover worriedly.

"Stay here," the man said with a frown, walking over to the window. He peered out on the beach and breathed when he saw what the source of the noise was. "It's just some kids," he told his lover. "I'll get them away from the house." He walked over to the next room; since there was no glass in the window frame there; and went up to space before yelling, "Get out of here! Those fireworks are illegal; I'll call the cops."

"Yeah right," one of the two boys said with firecrackers in their hands. "Cops can't get small ones."

"I'm getting my phone," the man said threateningly.

"Screw you," the other boy said scornfully. He lit the cherry bomb he had and threw it up at the blank window before he and his friend ran off.

"Fucking… jerks," the man swore as he'd had to run back into the room to keep from getting hit. He went back to the window to check and see if the two were gone and he breathed out in relief as the sand was clear before he started to run back to his lover, bare feet slapping on the floor below him.

The figure that came on him was only moments in reaching the man before the flash of the light was bright in the empty room and everything in the house was silent for some time.

* * *

"Babe?" the woman called as she looked at her watch she'd kept on during their lovemaking. She frowned when she realized it had been ten minutes since her lover had left her and she got up, pulling the sheet he'd set on the bed for some reason. "Are they gone? I heard that last firecracker and it scared me… You didn't leave me, did you?" she asked in annoyance.

Coming to the next room she saw a shadow on the gleaming white of the brand-new door and breathed out a sigh of relief before walking faster.

"They're not trying to hit the house are…" was all that came out of the woman's mouth before she discerned what the shadow was. Her lover was pinned to the door, the luminous silver of the knife sticking out of his chest surrounded by his blood as he looked down at the floor.

A scream echoed through the house and the woman was running, trying to reach outside and safety to find some kind of aid for her lover as she kept yelling, "Help! Someone help me please!"


	2. What We Were Getting Into

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _I'll Give You a Ring_ and _Get It_ both by Paul McCartney, from his album _Tug of War_ ; the first song is from the 2015 remastered release of the album.

A/N #2: With how short the prologue was I was very pleased getting the feedback I did so I will go into my thank you for that! vetgirlmx (Great you thought the chapter was creepy since of course that's what I was aiming for. And not surprised you were thinking there would be an ax or chainsaw hanging on the back of the door. Not surprised you thought it was convenient the kids were throwing those firecrackers while the killer was around, lol, I figured readers would think that. And the bit with the victim ending up as he did I got the idea from the first _Halloween_ movie; I saw a scene in the movie like how I wrote in college for a class and that stuck with me, lol, though I've never seen the movie I don't do horror movies. But I'm very happy to see that you can't wait to see how it all plays out and now you don't need to anymore to see a bit of that!).

Thanks so much for the review, definitely loved reading it and appreciate the time taken to write it and send it to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ , an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

What We Were Getting Into

"Breakfast is almost ready love," Castle said to his wife as he knew it was her walking up behind him.

"Great, I got a text from the Fosters, Davises and Ryans," Beckett said, smiling when he turned to her. "Easier to say that than Ryan and Jenny," she explained. "But they're up and going to have breakfast before they come over."

"You told them to go right down to the beach?" Castle asked her.

"Of course," Beckett said, going over to the table and setting Josie in her carrier onto the high chair. She carried it to the kitchen and set it next to the chair at the island where she said, "The girls are almost ready and so are Paul and Patrick and everyone else."

"Great," Castle said, hurrying to get the omelet he was making onto a plate. "Those are Paul, Nancy and Beatrice's," he told his wife. "I'm letting you know so you can remind me where they are," he then said while he was setting the three plates into the warming oven.

"You can't believe you just made veggie omelets for them, can you?" Beckett said in amusement.

"I can't believe I just made chickpea omelets," Castle replied. "I just hope they turn out okay."

"They will be I'm sure," Beckett said reassuringly. "Were those the first?"

"Yeah, I figured they'd stay warm a little easier than the eggs," Castle said. He glanced at his wife and was slightly startled when she was smiling at him before he asked, "What?"

Beckett didn't say a word until her husband eventually walked up to her and she wrapped her arms around his neck before she was kissing him deeply on the lips as soon as he was close enough. Running her fingers through his hair she tried to keep an ear out for anyone approaching them since they were definitely not alone in the house. But she soon forgot it before they were parting at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Good morning to you both," Paul McCartney said as he walked down the hall with his wife. "So sorry to interrupt you but we're quite hungry."

"Your omelets are ready," Castle said, hurrying to the warming oven.

"Oh no," Nancy said quickly. "We'll eat with everyone else, do you need any help?"

"If you could watch Josie for me," Beckett said, taking the two-and-a-half-month old out of her carrier. "I would appreciate it."

"Of course," Nancy replied as she smiled at the baby. "She's gotten so big."

"She did," Beckett said in agreement, handing over her youngest. "She should behave."

"If she doesn't I'll sing her a song," Paul said as he and his wife sat together at the kitchen table. "Will she be joining us down at the beach?"

"She will," Castle answered as he was pouring the eggs he'd beaten in a bowl onto the pan he had in front of him. "But swimming is going to have to wait."

"Does she have a cozzie?" Paul inquired as he was letting the baby take his finger with her hand.

"She does," Beckett said with a smile.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to know what I meant," Paul said with a smile. He opened his mouth to speak again when he heard the sound; along with everyone else; of someone running down the stairs before he heard more joining them and he smiled commenting, "They're joining us."

Beckett turned from the orange juice she was making in time to see the girls running down the hall with Maddy, Alexis and Louis hurrying after them. She was going to tell them to stop when Julia suddenly grabbed the back of her sister's shirt and they skidded to a stop before her oldest was talking to them all with a beaming smile on her face.

"Morning are we late?" Julia asked.

"Just in time," Beckett said, glancing at her husband who had gone back to the omelets. "You can go ahead and set the table."

"The dining room?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she went over to get the napkins, letting her little sister stay with Maddy as she got everything to set the table in the other room. She was setting the first napkin down before she glanced up at the doorway seeing Darnley and Nkosi walking by.

"Good morning," Darnley said to everyone as he passed them. He ruffled his daughter's hair in passing and went straight to Beckett. "You owe me," he said jokingly.

Giving him a look Beckett said, "You're going to start that up again?"

"Just to see how you would react," Darnley replied, laughing when she threw half an orange rind at him. "Sorry but I still want to run."

"We'll have to try later," Beckett replied. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Great… do you guys need _any_ help though?" Darnley asked his friend as he watched her pouring orange juice into a pitcher.

"We're set," Castle commented. "And I mean that because this was the last one. Julia," he called.

"The table's ready," the girl said as she hurried out into the hall.

"Eliza help your sister with the glasses," Castle told the little girl.

Opening her mouth Eliza felt someone squeezing her shoulder and she looked up to see it was her grandfather. "I wanna play," she whispered.

"You can down on the beach, later," Jim told her. "Come on I'll help you too."

With the guests talking together in the kitchen Castle followed his wife to the dining room saying, "Should we even consider holding a dinner with everyone else here too?"

Giving him a quick glance Beckett said, "We're catering remember?"

"When are we having a party?" Eliza asked, holding onto her mother's hand.

"It's for Fourth of July," Beckett reminded her. "That's in three days," she added quickly before the little girl could ask. "And we'll be outside… I'd hate to think of the seating arrangements."

"Like now?" Julia asked.

"No, and thank you for reminding us," Castle said, going over to the doorway. He called to the others before he walked out to grab Josie's carrier and chair to take it back to the room so the baby could sit with them.

Since there were so many of them it took the group time to sit as a few plates changed spots. But when they were ready they sat down to eat, and Paul was soon complimenting Castle and Beckett on the chickpea omelets.

"When you see Lily thank her," the former replied. "She made these on _Chopped_ when she was on the second time."

"We saw her the first time," Nancy said. "I'm afraid we're a bit behind in episodes."

"It's quite something to meet a famous TV star," Paul said.

Laughing Nkosi said, "She is a TV chef I think."

When Paul nodded to the man Beckett said, "Don't tell her that, she just wants to be good enough to win some competitions against other chefs in the country."

"Mom's going to be on that with her," Julia said suddenly.

"You are?" Paul asked her.

Nodding Beckett replied, "Not until February though, we had to delay because we were both… indisposed to run around the _Chopped_ kitchen."

"Should be fun, we'd love to see that episode," Paul told her.

"I'll try and get it to you… somehow," Beckett said with a smile.

"Paul?" Eliza asked. "Are you gonna sing?"

"Perhaps," the singer replied. "Skye and I will try it out on Saturday though it'll just be the three of us since the band isn't here."

"One of those band members is her wife," Castle pointed out. "So wherever she goes Mary does too."

"Have you had the pictures in the post yet?" Paul asked after a moment.

"I'm hoping for today," Beckett said as she'd had the pictures from Abbey Road she'd taken developed at a company that the singer had suggested.

"Will you need an album cover?" Julia asked interestedly.

Beckett glanced at the singer at the question, as far as she knew he was just going to use her pictures for the booklet that would go with the CD release and be part of the page on his site for the album. But as Paul cleared his throat she braced herself, wondering if he would use more than one for the album for sure.

"I didn't tell your mum this," the singer began, speaking to Julia. "But one of her pictures _will_ be used for the cover of this little album."

"What if you can't find a picture?" Beckett asked once she'd gotten over her shock at that news enough to speak.

"Oh, I've no doubt I will," Paul said with a smile. "But you're planning on spending the day out on the beach?"

"Just today," Castle picked up, reaching over and squeezing his wife's hand for a moment. "The rest of your stay I think we're letting you all do what you'd like."

"We are," Beckett said, giving her husband a brief look. "But I should warn you the Hamptons is very crowded right now."

"I gathered when we drove in yesterday evening," Paul said. "We might stay around here."

"Maybe Rebecca will let you go on her boat," Julia suddenly blurted out.

"She has a yacht and she and David sail," Castle said to the singer and his family's questioning expressions. "I don't know if they'll want the boat to go out though they want to take a trip between now and the twenty-first."

"That's alright," Paul said quickly. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"What about the park Daddy?" Eliza asked.

"There's a park with a dog park near here," Martha said when the family looked confused again.

"Have you taken all six of your dogs there?" Nancy asked.

"Many times," Darnley said. When his friend looked at him he told her, "You've told me."

"They have a lot of energy," Beckett said. "So we need to exercise them, we have a lure for them to race after for that."

"I'd like to see that," Paul commented.

"We'll go with you," Castle said.

"And riding," Julia said suddenly when they were starting to stand up to clear the table as some of them had finished.

"We can do that," Beckett said.

"Tomorrow morning," Paul said. "If you'd like to of course."

"That would be nice," Beckett replied, smiling slightly.

"Oh no, I'll leave the horseback riding to you," Darnley said as she had looked over at him.

"Anyone else want to join us?" Castle asked.

"You might want to ask Skye," Jim said.

"That was a given," Beckett said before she helped her husband in cleaning up the plates. She heard Julia crying out before the sound of the door to the backyard closing was after that. "Mari's here."

"Or Mari and everyone else," Castle said. "By the way, Skye-" he began to say.

"She heard you," Beckett said teasingly as he'd been cut off by the chime for the gate intercom. She went over to the front door and pressed the button on the wall next to it saying, "Skye?"

"We're here let us in or we'll test how strong this gate is," the woman said teasingly in a heavy Irish accent.

Beckett laughed and pressed the other button on the console to let their car in. She stepped out onto the porch to watch the black rental car pull up before the McDouglases were making their way out and she headed to her friend.

" _So glad to see you here, so glad you could come_ ," Skye sang as she walked up to Beckett. "Sorry," she said with a laugh before they hugged. "We were listening to _Back to the Egg_ and that song was on last before we got here. How're you doing?"

"I'm fine," Beckett replied as she turned her attention to Mary. "Flight?"

"Standard," the woman replied. Mary looked past Beckett once they'd let go of each other and said, "Hello again Rick."

"Hey, I decided to wait to let her get her greetings to you two over with," Castle said as he stepped off the porch.

" _So our kids aren't much_?" Skye asked in Irish jokingly. She embraced him quickly before he did the same with her wife and said, "Everyone's out back?"

"By now yes," Beckett commented. "Hello girls," she said to the three who were leaning in a row against the car. She hugged them all, ending with Fleur before she cupped her cheek and told her, " _Nos filles attendant de vous voir_ ," which meant their daughters were waiting to see her.

"I want to see them," Fleur said shyly.

"Everyone's out on the beach," Castle said as he squeezed the girls' shoulders, the youngest giggling when he did that to her. "So head up to your room and we'll see you outside."

"Are they?" Beckett asked once she and her husband were in the house and the McDouglases were heading up to the guest bedroom Skye and Mary would be using.

"As far as I could see from the kitchen," Castle said, nodding. "Luckily we have enough space for them on our beach."

"Luckily," Beckett said with a brief smile before she went with him to the door going out back.

"Are they here?" Julia asked, hurrying up to her mother as she was first down the steps to the grass.

"They are," Beckett said, not surprised she'd asked. "But they need to change I'm sure."

"Is everyone here?" Castle asked. When his wife looked back at him he said, "I told you I only saw from the kitchen."

"Yeah they are, even Ryan and Jenny," Julia said with a smile. When her parents looked at her in surprise she told them, "They went to the wrong house."

"Good thing it was on that side," Beckett said, nodding to the Foster's home before she and her husband went with their oldest down the beach. Since there were so many people there they could only greet them by saying hello. When they made it to where their parents were with Josie she took the baby from her mother in law and carried her to Lanie, sitting under an umbrella with her fiancé.

"You're not going to go swimming?" the doctor asked as she watched her friend taking the fluffy robe off the baby.

"Not yet," Beckett corrected her with a smile as Josie was staring at her with a smile. She leaned over and pressed her lips to her forehead before she held her youngest against her chest saying, "What do you think?"

"I wondered if you were going to get her a bathing suit… I didn't know they had wet suits for babies," Lanie said, smiling as she took the baby's hand.

"We had one for Eliza," Beckett said as she tossed Josie's robe over to her husband. "But that was fully patterned."

"And this one?" Lanie asked since the wet suit was blue for the body with grey on the arms.

"I loved the colors," Beckett said. She glanced up at her friend and asked, "Should I have gotten pink or purple."

"Don't start," Lanie said since they had talked about that before. "She looks so cute in her blue bathing suit," she said, leaning over slightly to Josie who was watching her with wide eyes.

"Take her for me?" Beckett asked as she'd noticed that Julia and Eliza were standing nearby watching her furtively. "Thanks, if you want a break give her to my dad or Martha." She got up from the blanket Lanie and Dylan were using before she hurried to her daughters. "Waiting for me?" she asked as she put her arms around them.

"Yeah," Julia said since she knew their mother was aware of the truth already. "Do you want to swim with us?"

Of course," Beckett said before she looked over at her husband and smiled since he was hurrying to them. " _Do ghlúin_?" she asked.

"What does that mean?" Eliza whispered to her sister.

"I think… his knee?" Julia guessed, shrugging as she spoke.

"It does," Castle told her with a smile. "And I'm fine love… _tá mé fear d'aois_ ," he then told her which meant he was an old man. He was a little shocked at the glare she gave him and said, "Maybe not, okay who wants to swim?"

"Me!" Eliza cried. She cried out as her father picked her up by tossing her up in the air and she squealed while he started to run to the water.

"Mom," Julia said then.

"It's okay sweetie," Beckett replied as she knew what her daughter was going to ask what Castle had said. "Your dad will be fine, and we should get to the water."

"Okay," Julia said. She took her mother's hand before they walked down to the water and she gasped a little as it was cold when it washed over their feet. "Are you really gonna swim?" she asked her mother.

"Now you don't want to?" Beckett said with a smile.

"After all the times we've been asked to go swimming here?" Castle added teasingly.

"Dad," Julia said before she laughed. She went to him and wrapped her arms around him saying, "Dad you didn't say you're old, did you?"

Since Eliza was with them Castle said, "I meant it as a joke, it's not I'm old it's that my knee has been through a lot." He was a little startled when the little girl kissed at the top of his knee brace and he smiled saying, "Thank you sweetheart."

"Welcome," Eliza said, smiling up at him. "Can you swim?"

"I can," Castle replied. "But are you ready?" he said, looking at his wife and Julia.

"Yeah!" Eliza cried before anyone could say anything. She started to run into the water and cried out heavily when the cold water hit her upper body. She stopped at her knees and saw her sister was running up to her, their parents going after Julia. She jumped up and down happily before they were all together and she said, "Now we're inside."

"Not quite," Beckett said with a soft laugh before they walked together further into the water.

Swimming out only slightly; since Eliza wasn't quite strong enough a swimmer for deep water without her vest; Castle and Beckett had a splash fight with their daughters as they were all laughing. When he called uncle to give in to the three who'd started splashing him all together he and his wife soon took their daughters back to the shore, telling them to join their friends as the families were beginning to split up. The two stayed together, going over to Brennan and Clara who were still under their umbrella. Beckett hugged her cousin tightly and sat next to him, Castle on the other side of her, while they watched their family and friends in silence before the two cousins were talking at the same time.

"Go ahead," Brennan told her.

"I was about to ask, are you going to swim?" Beckett asked him.

"Oh sure," Brennan replied. "Just wondering when the best time is."

"I told you," Beckett said with a smile. "The water does not heat up."

"She's right," Castle said, adjusting his knee brace.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked.

"I am," Castle answered quickly. He smiled at her and said, "It's just a bit stiff."

"He ran around too much with the girls," Beckett said with a smile. "Ever since we got back from Oxford."

"I would do that with Louis but he's a bit old these days," Brennan commented.

"Alexis wouldn't let me do that with her," Castle replied though he knew the man was joking. "Hey Espo," he said when the man had reached them.

"Hey," the detective replied. "Kids are exhausting."

"Oh for- it's only been ten minutes since you started going around with them," Beckett said in mock exasperation. She smiled and said, "How're you?"

"Good," Esposito replied.

"We'll see how Erin's doing," Clara said suddenly, touching her husband's shoulder so he would stand up with her.

"I didn't want them to go," Esposito said. "I mean they didn't have to," he corrected himself as he sat with Castle and Beckett.

"You were in your detective mode," the former replied.

"So… since they did I should tell you guys that there hasn't been anything," Esposito replied. "For a long time."

"That doesn't mean things are clear," Castle said.

"He's right," Beckett said, looking over at her father who was holding Josie. "Dad," she called to him. "How many unsolved murders does the city have?"

Esposito couldn't reply to that verbally; since Jim was walking over with the baby; so he merely nodded and watched as Beckett's father handed the baby to him.

"You're getting better at that," Castle said jokingly.

"I- not better at that," Esposito said, trying not to jerk away from Josie when she suddenly spit up.

"Is she alright?" Jim asked worriedly.

"You didn't do anything Dad," Beckett reassured her father as she moved to take the baby. Since Josie was wearing a bib she used that to clean her mouth before the baby could start crying. "I'll be right back," she told the men, standing up and cradling her youngest.

"So…" Esposito began.

"You said that earlier," Castle said. "And she's spat up for no reason we could figure out before; Eliza too."

"Yeah, how did she learn to do that so well?" Esposito said in amazement.

"She's been a mother for seven years now," Jim commented. Before he walked down to the water to join his granddaughters he added, "And she's had a baby before. That and Richard of course."

"I didn't have to help her that much," Castle said when the detective turned to him. "But she wasn't alone. Anyways are you alright being here?"

"You mean on my own?" Esposito asked. When Castle glanced away for a moment he said, "I wanted to see my _sobrinas_ , and Kate."

"Oh, but not me," Castle said, slightly uneasily as he wasn't sure if the detective was joking.

"He keeps an eye on you," Ryan said, walking up to them with Danny on his shoulders. "He seems to think Beckett needs to be watched over."

"He doesn't," a voice said from the grass, making the men look over. Beckett glanced at her former partners and said, "But it's nice of you to want to make sure I'm doing alright."

"And your girls," Esposito added, relieved she was slightly smiling.

Beckett nodded and handed Josie to her husband, kissing his cheek before she said, "I'll be with Lily."

"Don't say I'm whipped," Castle replied before he was nuzzling the side of Josie's head with his lips tenderly.

"Nah, she's your baby bro," Esposito said.

"Ours," Castle couldn't help saying immediately.

Then Esposito wanted to say he was whipped but he heard the mayor calling to him so he got up, hurrying over to the man as he was a fan of David's since he'd allowed Castle and Beckett to work with the Hamptons police.

"This beach is packed," Brad said as he came over with Max and Molly who were quick to sit with Castle, sniffing a little at Josie.

"Yeah that's the weird part, everyone seemed to leave on this beach," Castle said since the other homes were empty of anyone on the sand.

"Worked out well though, considering there are…" Brad said.

"Forty-two of us," Castle answered quickly. When his friend looked at him with his eyes wide he glanced down the beach and said, "I know, we wrote it out and… that's how many of us are here. Originally it was going to be thirty-six but Patrick managed to get time off. And Trevor too."

"Okay… there's enough food for us, right?" Brad asked.

"We've been catering," Castle said with a slight laugh as he stood at Beckett's beckoning him down in the water. He paused and said, "Can you… thank you Mother," directing the latter to his mother as she came to him with the hat for Josie, tying it under her chin.

"Are you sure?" Martha asked her son.

"We are but since it's a little cold we'll keep her out of the water," Castle replied. He said to Brad, "It's shocking you we didn't ask Lily about cooking, isn't it?"

"No," the chief said, shaking his head before he smiled. "Lily's not catering at the moment."

"Of course I'm not," the woman herself said as the two came close to them. "Tired as I am…"

"Who has Sophie now?" Castle asked, looking around at everyone that was on the shore. He saw the Davis' baby was in Jim's arms and said, "He's good with kids."

"She's asleep," Beckett commented as she walked over to Josie. She gently pressed her lips against the baby's forehead asking her husband, "Think I should take her?"

"Why not?" Castle asked.

"I'm all wet," Beckett replied.

"Yep," Castle said simply.

"And we're out of here," Lily said jokingly. "Oh, think I can ask Skye to sing something?"

"Go ahead, she's got two acoustics down here," Castle commented.

"One of those is Paul's," Beckett corrected him.

"I'm going to ask her," Lily said firmly.

"You can, you're still warm you know," Castle said when his wife turned to him when they were alone.

Beckett held her arms out to him so she could take their youngest and she and Castle held their breaths, watching to see what Josie would do as she held her against her shoulder. They braced themselves for crying but when nothing happened she turned to her husband questioningly before he responded with a smile first and then spoke.

"She's a water baby already," Castle commented.

Glancing at him Beckett looked down at Josie, rocking her a little as the baby vocalized an 'ah' sound for a while before yawning. She was going to tell her husband she was going to take the baby under their umbrella when Skye was walking up to them.

"Looks like we're providing the entertainment," the investigator commented when she was close to them. "Will she be alright?" Skye asked, nodding to Josie.

"She will… unless you're going to play Metallica or… whatever," Castle started to say before the two women were looking at him.

"It's a song Lily really likes apparently," Skye said. "Let me ask Paul if he'll join in or else I'm on my own for this one."

"What is it?" Beckett asked her friend before she walked up to the blankets and umbrellas to put Josie in her carrier.

"Let me take her love," Castle told his wife.

"Sure," Beckett said in slight surprise before she handed their baby to him. She kissed Josie's forehead, taking off her tiny hat, before she said, "Keep her in the shade."

"Will do," Castle replied.

Since Skye was calling the others back to them Beckett only rolled her eyes before they kissed each other gently and she turned with him to watch as their guests began to gather around them. When they were settled on blankets she smiled in amusement since the kids were all sitting directly in front of Paul and the investigator in a half circle before the former began to speak as soon as he had his guitar over his shoulder.

"Since we had a request," Paul said, nodding to Lily. "We're going to put on a little concert since it's summer and all that."

Skye laughed and said, "Very little. She asked us to sing one of Paul's B-side songs _I'll Give You a Ring_."

"B-side?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, it's on the re-release of my album _Tug of War_ ," Paul answered. "Ready?" he asked Skye. When the investigator nodded he began to play his acoustic, both singing together after some time of strumming their guitars. They sang the song without any instrumental breaks and after the first few lines Julia and Mari began to dance together on the blankets while he and Skye watched them with smiles on their faces.

 _You look a little lonely  
Maybe I could meet you  
Tell me where to reach you  
And I'll give you a ring_

 _I'll take you to the pictures  
I'll miss the second feature  
Lord I can't believe my eyes  
I must be dreaming_

 _Give me your number, I'll give you a ring_

 _You look a little hungry  
Maybe I could take you  
Tell me when to wake you  
And I'll give you a ring_

 _I take you to the restaurant  
We're looking at the menu  
Lord I can't believe my eyes  
I must be dreaming_

 _Give me your number, I'll give you a ring_

 _Oh man  
I know I won't be lonely anymore (won't be lonely anymore)  
Me and my phone  
I'm gonna call your home  
I won't be lonely anymore (won't be lonely anymore)_

 _You look a little lonely  
Maybe I could meet you  
Tell me where to reach you  
And I'll give you a ring_

 _I'll take you to the pictures  
Miss the second feature  
Lord I can't believe my eyes  
I must me dreaming_

 _Give me your number, I'll give you a ring  
Give me your number, I'll give you a ring_

 _Oh man  
I know I won't be lonely anymore (won't be lonely anymore)  
Me and my phone  
I'm gonna call your home  
I won't be lonely anymore (won't be lonely anymore)_

 _You look a little sleepy  
Wanna go to bed dear?  
Tell me we can wed dear  
And I'll give you a ring_

 _Take you to the chapel  
Listen to the sermon  
Lord I can't believe my ears  
I must be dreaming_

 _Give me your number, I'll give you a ring  
Give me your number, I'll give you a ring  
Give me your number, I'll give you a ring_

"Oh, thank you," Paul said to the applause they got when they'd finished. "But please applaud these fine dancers."

Julia laughed softly and thanked the singer, about to ask if they could sing another song when Paul and Skye exchanged a look that made her hesitate.

"One more," the investigator said with a smile before she leaned over to her wife who was on the other side of her.

"Why the conspiracy?" Darnley asked.

"Not a conspiracy," Paul said before he turned his attention to Julia. "Come 'ead."

Though she wasn't sure why he wanted her to go over to him Julia was swift to walk around the other kids before she said, "You don't want me to sing do you?"

"Say that's a wonderful idea," Paul said. He smiled as the girl's eyes widened and said, "No, we need a good song for you and your group."

"And your family," Julia told him.

"Of course," Paul said. "But could you think of one?" He was startled when Julia nodded her head rapidly and he asked, "That quickly?"

"I've been thinking of something," Julia explained before she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Clever lass, go ahead and tell Skye," Paul said.

"What do you think she picked?" Castle murmured to his wife.

"More than likely a song for those guitars Richard," Martha said as she'd been able to hear his question. "Now let me hold Josie."

Castle smiled and gave the baby to her before he turned to look at Skye as she was laughing. "Want to give us a hint?" he called to her.

"You'll hear soon enough," Skye said as she was playing her guitar to check it again. "I'm set," she told the singer.

Paul started out with the opening chords and he began singing the chorus, smiling when some of their audience looked startled as Skye took the second and they proceeded to switch before singing the chorus together.

 _You've got to get it mm mm  
You've got to get it don't forget  
It doesn't come around again  
You've got to get it mm mm  
You've got to get it and you've got to get it good_

 _Once I had a little Spanish guitar  
The neighbors told me I could go pretty far  
Well I came and I went  
And my guitar got bent_

 _But I discovered that the people who love  
Are what we need if we're to get up above it all  
And that's that  
Unless the world is flat_

 _I wanna get it mm mm  
I wanna get it just in case  
It doesn't come around again  
I wanna get it mm mm  
I wanna get it and I wanna get it good_

At the instrumental break Julia looked over at Mari, and her other Hamptons friends to see they were watching the two intently. Tommy was with them and she saw her cousin's eyes were wide as Skye's fingers were moving around the neck of her guitar. She felt a squeeze to her arm and smiled at her best friend before Skye started to sing and she and Paul switched verses again until they got to the chorus, singing that together.

 _Pardon me if I've been misunderstood  
I wanna get it while the going is good  
The telephone rang  
About a song I sang_

 _The life of Cadillac and ultra for sure  
Is automatic for the lady demure  
She came and she went  
Without a single dent_

 _You got to get it mm mm  
You got to get it just in case  
It doesn't come around again  
You got to get it mm mm  
You got to get it and you got to get it good_

Beckett watched the two singing then, wondering if one of them would take the lines that Carl Perkins spoke during the instrumental break there. She had to smile when Skye did so, not really surprised it was her friend that took those lyrics, singing them to Paul.

 _I hear you  
Go cat_

 _Come on, let's get it mm mm  
You got to get it don't forget  
It doesn't come around again  
You've got to get it mm mm  
You've got to get it and you've got to get it good_

As Paul and Skye 'dueled' chords with each other; different from the original ending of the song; the group around them applauded though Tommy was jumping up to hurry to Skye.

"How can I help you _wakamono_?" the investigator said with a smile as he was just staring at her guitar in amazement.

"Fozzie?" Tommy asked in confusion at the word.

"Fozzie? I didn't know you pulled voices," Brad said jokingly as Skye burst out into laughter. "It's Japanese."

"How'd you figure that out?" the investigator asked, calming down.

"The word itself, I'm guessing… young man?" the chief asked.

"It is indeed," Skye said before she turned her attention to Tommy. "Do you like the guitar?"

"Can I do that?" Tommy asked.

"Come on," Julia whispered to Mari as everyone else was talking together. They were already standing so they slipped away, thinking they were doing so unnoticed.

"Should we tell them not to do that?" Rebecca asked Beckett as they'd been in conversation before they saw their eldest daughters.

"Good luck," she replied with a smile. Beckett looked at her friend and said, "Leave them, they might be talking about their sleepover."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Rebecca said wryly before she and Beckett went to grab drinks in the coolers that were under some umbrellas.

"That was so cool," Mari was saying to Julia as they started to walk slowly down the sand to in front of her house. "Was it like that when you went to Abbey Road?"

"Yep," Julia said. "And Paul even asked me about songs too. To pick them I mean. I still can't believe it. Did I really just ask him to sing _Get It_?"

"Yep," Mari said, echoing her purposely. She laughed when her friend tried to tickle her and ducked out of the way. "Remember when we listened to it?"

"Yeah, why do you think I said that one?" Julia replied. "Let's keep walking," she said as Mari had stopped. She linked her arm through her friend's and they walked together down the beach quietly, hoping their parents wouldn't try to call them back. She was amazed when they neared the last house before the path up to the street and she suddenly stopped at the sound of some popping behind them.

"Wh-" Mari said before she turned and saw some boys running up behind them.

"Get out of the way!" one of them said as he shoved Mari in passing since she had been right in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked as she tried to help her friend from falling but only managed to hold up her arm. She looked at the two boys and called, "Watch where you're going you… jerk!" She turned her attention back to Mari and said, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, but I guess they were the ones with the stupid firecrackers on the other side of your house," the girl replied with a sigh. She smiled at her friend brushing the sand off her arms and legs before she said, "Did you just call him a jerk?"

"Yep… I could have called him…" Julia said hesitantly before she looked around. Since they were alone she said, "Dickweed."

"Ooh," Mari said before they started to laugh. "Your mom would be mad."

"I know," Julia said. "But Dad wouldn't, he loves that one and wants to use it in their books; Mom won't let him."

Mari giggled and said, "I wish you could spend the night again."

"Me too," Julia said, nodding her head. She paused, and her head shot over to the houses they were near and glanced at the windows of the ones she could still see. She opened her mouth to tell Mari they needed to go inside that second; though she had no idea which house they would need to go in; when they heard their fathers calling to them. That seemed to break the daze she was suddenly under and she told her friend, "Better go."

"Oh I know, since our dads were the ones that called us," Mari said with a nod.

Julia took her hand and they began to jog down the beach together, forgetting the sensation she'd had at the homes that were soon behind them. Instead her mind had her recalling Mari's birthday celebration and the sleepover they'd had that night after the party with their 'cousins' and school friends.

* * *

 _"That was the best party ever," Mari said with a laugh as she lay on her bed._

 _"Even though it's…" Julia said before she paused in trying to figure it out. "Six days from your birthday?"_

 _"You were busy," Mari replied, shrugging. "At least we're having a party now."_

 _"With your friends," Julia said since she knew Mari had had a party with just her family on the eighteenth._

 _Shrugging again Mari sat up as Julia was climbing up on the bed and she said, "It's so nice to be ten now."_

 _"I know, just wait until you're eleven," Julia replied. She laughed when Mari tried to lunge at her to tickle her before she said, "But you know what?"_

 _"Huh?" Mari said in confusion as her friend was suddenly serious._

 _Julia didn't answer and instead climbed down from the bed before she went over to where her overnight bag was._

 _"Oh… Julia!" Mari said with a sigh._

 _"What? That present was from my family; didn't you read the tag?" the girl replied as she handed her friend the gift._

 _"But it was a full Hogwarts uniform," Mari said._

 _"I told you to say thanks to my gram," Julia said. "Open it; this is from me."_

 _Mari began to rip off the paper until she was down to the box and once she was there she took off the lid and said, "Julia!"_

 _Giggling she said, "You always say you like mine," as Mari took out the Rolleiflex camera that was like the one Paul McCartney had in his 1960's selfie picture. "And now you have this one."_

 _"Thank you!" Mari exclaimed as she threw her arm around her friend. "Come on."_

 _"Where are we going?" Julia said with a smile as she followed her friend in getting off the bed._

 _"Here," Mari replied when they stopped in front of her closet doors which were mirrors. She got the camera ready; doing so easily since she'd used Julia's before; and waited for her friend to wrap her arm around her shoulders before she snapped the shot and a second one while they smiled. "I hope that came out."_

 _"Me too," Julia said. "So… what should we do now?" she asked while she watched Mari going to the carrying case that was in the gift box. She was startled when the girl didn't say anything, instead working carefully on putting her camera away and getting it to the desk. "You-" she started to say when Mari was throwing her arms around her neck._

 _"Thank you," the girl said. "So much," Mari added. She kissed her friend's cheek and said, "I love it and I can't believe I have one."_

 _Smiling Julia said, "That's why I got it for you." She had wrapped her arms around her friend in response to her embrace and they let go of each other slowly. "You have to show me your pictures," she told her firmly._

 _"Yep," Mari said with a nod. She laughed with Julia before she said, "I know what we can do next."_

 _Julia wanted to ask what that was when her friend pulled her over to the bed where they climbed on top. She was about to ask for sure that time what she wanted them to do but Mari was blurting it out before she needed to speak._

 _"We can play Truth or Dare," the girl said._

 _"You really want to play that?" Julia asked in surprise._

 _"Yeah," Mari said. "It'll be fun."_

 _With a sigh Julia said, "I guess."_

 _"Oh come on, what do you think I'm gonna tell you to do if you pick dare?" Mari asked. She frowned before she told her friend, "You can't just pick truth all the time."_

 _"You can't either… or just dares," Julia said before they were laughing together. "Okay, so who's first… youngest first."_

 _Sticking her tongue out playfully at her friend Mari said, "Fine, truth."_

 _Julia smiled briefly before she said, "Did you ever see a grown-up movie before? The ones they make an R movie?"_

 _"Nope, Mommy and Daddy say I'll be grown up in enough time so I'm just seeing kids' movies, but I see sorta grown up movies," Mari replied. "Is it the violence?" she then asked her friend. When Julia didn't answer she said, "Come on, what is it?"_

 _"It's about Family Life too but you don't know about that yet," the girl said. When Mari looked at her with wide eyes Julia smiled and said, "I haven't seen grown up movies either, but grownups don't like you seeing that stuff so." She shrugged and added, "I figured it out."_

 _Nodding Mari said, "Now it's your turn." She watched as Julia became thoughtful before she told her which she was picking and surprised her with her choice._

 _"Dare," Julia said. "What?" she asked at the startled expression on her friend's face._

 _"I thought you were gonna pick truth," Mari explained. She closed her eyes and said, "Okay, I dare you to climb out onto my balcony."_

 _"You mean your shelf," Julia shot back teasingly. She hopped off the bed with her friend and they went to the window where there was a very thin balcony on the house outside of it. "What if I fell?" she asked, looking at Mari after studying it._

 _"My dad wants to get rid of it 'cause it's ugly; not 'cause it's dangerous," the girl said. "Just step out and then come back in."_

 _"Okay," Julia said slowly. "I hope my parents can't see me do this," she said. She opened the window and took off the screen; having learned from her father how to do that; and then climbed out onto the balcony. She looked around before she went back in and when she put the screen in place she said, "What would I have had to do if I didn't do that?"_

 _"I dunno," Mari said after thinking for a moment. She smiled and then said, "Maybe give me a penny."_

 _"Geez, I don't know if I like this game," Julia said, wrinkling her nose playfully. She wrapped her arm around Mari's shoulders and said, "Let's go back and let me do something to you."_

 _"Oh… maybe I don't want to play this game now," Mari said teasingly. "Why don't we play War instead?"_

 _"Better," Julia said, nodding her head. When they were back on the bed she was about to take the cards her friend had to shuffle them when she paused at the expression on her face. "What's wrong?" she asked._

 _"No, I'm just wondering two things," Mari answered. "How did you know how to take the screen off my window?"_

 _"My dad taught me and Lizzy; in case there's a fire or something," Julia replied. "We have a ladder in our closets to hook to the window sill to climb out."_

 _"Me too… I should tell my dad to teach me and Dani," Mari said thoughtfully. She thought of something and said, "What about your mom?"_

 _"He had to teach her too 'cause she always lived in apartments. Well I guess Lizzy's the only one who never lived in an apartment, but she's been to our city house of course."_

 _"Yeah," Mari replied slowly._

 _"The second," Julia said._

 _"Second?" Mari asked in confusion._

 _"The second thing you wanted to ask me?" Julia said._

 _"Oh, have you ever been kissed?" Mari said quickly._

 _"You've asked me that already," Julia said, furrowing her brow._

 _"I was just wondering," Mari said. "After I asked you last time."_

 _"Nope… do you want to get a kiss?" Julia asked._

 _"I wonder what it feels like to do that," Mari said with a shrug._

 _"Me too," Julia said, smiling. "But we should play now huh?"_

 _"Yeah," Mari said, looking over at the time and seeing what they had left until her parents would come in to get them to bed was running out. "I bet I'll win more."_

 _"Just 'cause it's your birthday…" Julia started to say before she trailed off. "Well… kinda, I'm still gonna play fair." She giggled when her friend stuck her tongue out at her and she did the same back before they turned their attention back to their game while they smiled at one another._


	3. What We Were Getting Into (Part 2)

"I told Paul," Julia commented.

Looking over at her friend where they were swimming Mari asked, "Told him what?"

"That your birthday is the same day as his," Julia replied.

"What'd he say?" Jacob asked as he and his sister were with the two.

"That it must have been why we were friends," Julia said with a smile. "Even though we didn't know each other's birthday when we first met."

"That must have been really cute," Eve said before her brother ducked under the water. When he resurfaced closer to shore she rolled her eyes and said to Julia and Mari, "You two were little huh?"

"Three," Mari said, raising her hand though she ended up going down in the water.

"Four," Julia said laughingly. "And she was just barely three."

"It was August," Mari said in mock annoyance, splashing her friend.

"Still," Julia said before she splashed back, and they cried out together when Eve splashed them.

"Oh no," Jenny said on the shore suddenly where she was sitting with Beckett and Lily, all of them holding their youngest children. "They're all going in together to join that splash fight," she told the two women.

"Rick," Beckett called to her husband who was standing near them with Brennan and Paul.

"I'm watching," Castle said.

"At least they're not in deep water," Paul commented.

"If they were I would have dragged my kids right out," Brennan said. When the two men looked at him he said with a laugh, "Even my son though he wouldn't be very pleased."

With a sharp whistle; that made him proud as Beckett had taught him to do that better; Castle stopped the ten kids that were splashing in waist deep water for Tommy's sake. "Time out," he said, walking out to them. "Too many players and no teams."

"Dad," Julia said in mock annoyance. She then went to him and hugged him saying, "Will you play with us?"

"Probably better that we don't," Castle said, wrapping his other arm around Eliza when she'd gone over to them. "We're going to have lunch as soon as Alexis and Beatrice get back in so everyone go back to your parents."

"How was it?" Beckett asked her daughters with a smile as they came up to her and Castle gave them their towels.

"Fun!" Eliza exclaimed. "I wish our friends could come over all the time."

"So you had fun with Tommy?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, he likes shells too," Eliza said, her voice shaking as her father was rubbing her furiously to dry her off. "Daddy!"

Julia, about to speak, smiled when her littlest sister made an o sound as she cooed, and she said, "Can I hold her?"

"Of… of course," Beckett started to say when Josie started to cry. "Rick?"

"Yeah," Castle said, going to where they had Josie's things in her bag so they wouldn't need to go back to the house to care for the baby. He held the thin blanket and sat with her, putting it over her right shoulder as she was putting Josie to her right breast.

"I got it Daddy," Julia told her father, sitting on her knees and taking the edge of the blanket so her mother could nurse in some privacy as her breast was exposed. She smiled when he let it go and then kissed Beckett's temple before he moved around to sit next to her. As she glanced at him watching Josie she wanted to ask him something but decided to wait until a later time when they weren't surrounded by so many people.

"Should I get everything?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett said before she switched to Irish. " _That way everyone doesn't see you staring at me_."

Castle wanted to protest that he was looking at their baby when he stopped himself as he knew she wouldn't buy it. So he merely nodded and moved over enough to kiss her before he took her lips. He was very quick and when he pulled away he told her, " _I can only look_."

" _I know_ ," Beckett said, not surprised their two oldest were sharing looks at their continued conversation in Irish. " _But not now_."

" _Right_ ," Castle said before he quickly switched back to English. "I'll go ahead and get our sandwiches," calling that to the others.

"Can I help Daddy?" Eliza asked, hurrying to him and taking his hand.

"Of course," Castle replied.

"Does he realize everyone saw him?" Alexis asked her stepmother as she sat with her and Julia.

"That's why I sent him away," Beckett said in amusement. "But it's understandable." When she saw that Alexis looked confused she nodded over to Brad and Lily, the former watching his wife nursing their baby daughter at that moment.

"Okay," Alexis said. "I'll go help Dad," she told the two.

"Mom?" Julia asked.

"Yes?" Beckett asked simply.

Julia was about to speak when Mari hurried over to her and she asked, "What is it?"

"We're going to walk around in the water a little bit," the girl said. "Want to come with us?"

"Go," Beckett replied as she was finishing nursing by then. She waited for her oldest to put the towel over her shoulder and watched her hurry away. She put Josie against her shoulder quickly, patting her back before she said, "Now you can go."

"Hullo," Skye said, sitting next to her once Julia was in the water.

"Hey, that was some very nice performing," Beckett said. She was surprised when the investigator didn't say anything; merely nodded; and she asked what was wrong. She was taken aback again when Skye still didn't speak, and she furrowed her brow seeing the investigator was thinking something over before she finally talked though it wasn't a response she expected.

"They're going to let you photograph," Skye said. She smiled when she saw the look on her friend's face and told her, "The show."

"Wait… they are," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I didn't even know I was going to," she added.

"I'm trying to take the decision out your hands," Skye told her teasingly.

"Oh thanks," Beckett said wryly. She then said, "You really want me to take pictures of you and… your partner," trailing off and keeping herself from saying Derek's name.

"That would be nice," Skye said with a smile. "But mainly in the rehearsals; I don't know how it would be during the episodes since they do have a professional photographer."

"So you would just let me photograph during the rehearsals," Beckett said.

"I wanted you to photograph during the show too, but I suppose we'll have to make do with that," Skye commented.

Beckett smiled, shaking her head, before she asked, "We, have you been conspiring with my husband?"

"He has no idea that I'm telling you this," Skye said, stressing the word telling. She smiled when Beckett pushed her aside slightly and said, "Let me hold her."

Without a word of protest or questioning she did so and making sure Josie was alright Beckett said, "Then I have to ask why you're doing this."

"She's my niece," Skye replied. She expected her friend to say something about how that wasn't true but when she didn't she said, " _You believe what we've seen_?"

" _We_?" Beckett said, speaking in Russian as she had. " _You've seen more too_?"

" _Yes, but don't ask what that was because it's mostly about my wife and I_ ," Skye said. She saw her friend was looking at her with a slight smile and she sighed saying, " _Do you really want to know_?"

" _I told you about me and my husband then_ ," Beckett said. " _No details_ ," she reminded her.

"Oh… _right_ ," Skye said slowly. " _Alright then_ ," she said with a smile. " _You asked for it_ ," she continued, relating the story of hers and Mary's first time in their past life though she glossed over the especially sexual details and still speaking in Russian.

" _So you enjoyed it_ ," Beckett said.

" _I told you we both got each other to orgasm_ ," Skye said in mock indignation. " _But yeah we did… I don't know why her home was empty_."

" _You know I never got that she was wealthy_ ," Beckett told her.

Nodding her head Skye said, " _Her parents were, and she got that money from there. We probably should have left the family home, but we didn't really want to_."

" _No_ ," Beckett said. " _From what I saw it was a perfect home_." When Skye nodded in agreement with her she looked down at Josie and said, "I think it's time for lunch."

Glancing over Skye saw Castle was walking back with Eliza, carrying a tray with wrapped sandwiches and she said, "Better give her back to you and get to my family," speaking in English. " _By the way, do you mind I found you attractive when we first met now when we were sisters back then_? _Though I will tell you know it felt extremely odd thinking that._ "

At her friend's Russian, Beckett said, " _You didn't know and neither did I. You didn't back then_."

" _Short sentences_ ," Skye teased her. " _And true, we were twins_."

" _Who has the short sentences now_?" Beckett asked with a laugh.

" _We're still twins_ ," Skye replied before squeezing her shoulder before she said goodbye to them and hurried to her family after getting their sandwiches.

"You're welcome," Castle said in response to the investigator's thank you. "What were you talking about?" he asked his wife.

Beckett held up her finger before she passed out the sandwiches for Julia and Eliza, giving her father and mother in law theirs. Once she and Castle had their food she explained to him quickly in Irish what she and Skye had been talking to one another about before she finished saying, " _I guess that explains the camaraderie that we had so quickly when we met_." She thought for a moment and said, " _A lot of the time I don't accept someone that fast_."

" _The boys_?" Castle asked, speaking in Irish as well.

" _The same, though maybe that's left over from them being involved in the murder of my brother_ ," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband nodded rapidly, and she told him, "Eat love," in English. "I want us to take a walk with them and Lanie after lunch."

"What about us?" Julia asked with a smile. "And Tommy and Danny?"

"Mind taking care of them for us?" Castle asked. When his wife looked at him he said quickly, "They're mature love; they're caring for their sister and she's way younger."

"You didn't let me say anything," Beckett said in amusement. "I was going to agree to that idea because they're good at baby sitting and they're not alone here."

"True," Castle said.

"So yes you guys can watch your cousins just be careful," Beckett directed to their daughters. She wasn't surprised when Julia smiled and Eliza wriggled happily but had them get back to eating as their family and friends were all doing that themselves.

When they'd finished Julia said, "What can we do with Tommy and Danny? Danny's just a year old."

"His mother might want to keep him with her," Castle suggested.

"And you need to ask your aunt what Tommy can do with you exactly," Beckett told them. When the girls looked at each other she smiled and urged them, "Go now."

"How long until dinner?" Julia asked instead of going over to where the Ryans were sitting.

"We've got six hours," Castle said, looking at his watch. "We ate early," he said to Eliza's surprised look.

"Great," Julia said, taking her little sister's hand and going over to where the family was.

"Should we have told them we're not going right this second?" Castle asked his wife as they'd remained seated.

"What do you mean not right this second?" Beckett asked with her eyebrow slightly raised.

"You wanted to?" Castle replied.

"Why don't you two go swimming on your own?" Martha suggested to them.

"We can keep an eye on Josie," Jim added. He smiled briefly when his daughter and son in law exchanged a look before he said, "I don't think you need to worry about your guests, they seem to be doing very well on their own."

"A short swim?" Castle asked his wife.

"It doesn't need to be that short," Beckett said with a slight smile. She turned her attention to Josie, getting the baby out of her carrier. She held her to her shoulder and kissed her temple, rubbing her back a little before the baby gave a little sigh. She was smiling again, wider, as she gave Josie to her husband watching him repeat what she'd done to their youngest.

"I- she's asleep," Castle began to say as he held the baby a little longer.

"She is," Beckett said softly while she watched him carefully set the baby into her carrier. When he'd finished she stood at the same time as him before they said goodbye to their parents and walked into the water together.

"What're you remembering?" Castle asked his wife once they were further out in the water a short time later.

With a smile Beckett said, "You're not remembering?"

"You're not?" Castle answered with a question.

"Not after I heard Skye's story," Beckett replied with a smile. She said, "So go ahead and say."

"While we're like this?" Castle said. When she narrowed her eyes at him he was quick to say, "Oh, no I'm not trying to delay I just don't want you to get uncomfortable while I'm saying it." At her look he said with a laugh, "Okay, and me too. Come on." They swam together to the shallows and when they could both stand he used the cover of the water to wrap his arm around her waist to hold her close as he told her, "Want to hear about how we met?"

"Yes," Beckett said with a smile as she'd been wondering that for some time.

"Okay, so it was around Golden Gate Park on the morning of the 19th," Castle told her. "The day after the earthquake but I don't know why it took me until then to get to the park…"

"It was a mess that day," Beckett said. "Do you remember where you started out from?"

"Near the… no, I was near Union Square, our home was around there," Castle said after thinking for a moment. "So I was walking up to the park, seeing the tents that were already starting to be set up there by the Army." He breathed out heavily, feeling the sadness that he as a little boy had felt walking through the city knowing he was an orphan though he didn't know he was about to meet the love of his life in that refuge from the destruction of San Francisco.

* * *

 _Rick tried to walk away from the soldiers that were walking through some stores, frowning at them as he was starving and couldn't get to the food he knew was in them. He watched a man chasing after another man holding a box before he was suddenly shot in the back. He retched into the street as the shooter walked up to the looter and nudged his side before he picked up the box. He was relieved to see the soldiers yelling at the murderer before someone was calling out to him._

 _His eyes growing wide Rick turned around and raced for Van Ness that he knew would give him a better escape route for the coast where he'd heard other survivors talking about camps being set up there. He didn't stop until he was out of breath, leaning against the corner of a building on Van Ness. When he felt a little stronger he looked around for a street sign but only saw one on the ground. Seeing it was Fell Street he turned and walked west, joining several other people but keeping away from them._

 _Rick felt weaker and weaker as they continued for blocks to the park which was some distance away. He shied away from everyone which made him take longer and he was almost ready to faint when he spotted things that were white and looked like cones ahead._

 _"There she is," a man ahead said. "Our new home."_

 _Seeing the tents that were set up; and being set up by people there; Rick turned around and looked at the tower of smoke that was still billowing up to the east. Squaring his shoulders, he turned around and walked straight to the park before he was nearly run in to by a little girl. "Watch out," he said._

* * *

"How did you say that?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"Not threateningly," Castle replied. "I hadn't eaten since I'd found a busted gate and vegetable garden with some green tomatoes on them… I was lucky I didn't get sick eating those. So that was you and when you saw me you started to cry."

* * *

 _"Hey, don't do that," Rick said, feeling uncomfortable at the sight of the little girl crying._

 _"You've got a scratch," the little girl replied, touching his cheek. "And you look tired."_

 _"I'm hungry," Rick replied, stepping back from her. "Do you have any-"_

 _"Hey Katie!" a boy; who looked to be Rick's age; said as he ran over to the two. "What're you doing? Ma said not to talk to strangers."_

 _"But he's hurt Junior!" the little girl replied. She turned back to Rick and said, "I'm Kate."_

 _"I'm Rick… do you have any food?" he asked._

 _"Did you find someone to play with?" another little girl said, obviously Kate's twin._

 _"That's my other sister Rose… hey come with us," Junior said to Rick. "I'm the only boy, we can play some stickball."_

 _"Yeah," Rick said though he was still hungry. But they seemed happy to be with him, so he followed them a little further to a tent where a man and woman were sitting outside, seeming to have set up home with the man reading a newspaper and the woman knitting. As he drew closer he felt tears well up in his eyes when he heard their Irish accents, reminding him of his mother though hers had been much lighter._

 _"Sure, and we'll have a chance at a better life my Johanna," the man was saying. "What this city will need is something to forget its troubles."_

 _"And that's a sin James," the woman replied with a sigh. "Though you won't have anything to make your establishment that way."_

 _"Not if you make sure I don't," the man said, smiling at her. He looked over at their children and his newspaper was nearly thrown down as he said, "Saints preserve us. Johanna they've found a boy and he looks to be dead on his feet."_

 _"This is Rick," Kate said as her parents nearly ran to them. "He's very hungry, I didn't ask him where his mama and papa are."_

 _"Don't have a papa," Rick mumbled before the woman he had heard called Johanna swooped onto him and took off his hat. "My mam's…"_

 _"Shh it's alright Richard," Johanna said soothingly as she studied the cut on his cheek. "We'll care for you and make sure your ma has no need to think you're not watched over here on Earth."_

* * *

"That sounds a little like my mother," Beckett said softly. "She would have done that." A confused look came over her face and she asked, "But Richard?"

"At first, we'd just met, and she seemed to have known that my mother called me that too," Castle replied. "But she took me into your tent and amazingly you'd managed to bring items from your home with you."

"We were better off than most," Beckett said gently. "She got you some clothes from my brother."

Nodding Castle told her, "He was born in January and I was born in March so we were nearly the same size. She then had your dad take me to where they had baths set up for the survivors to clean me up and then take care of my cut."

* * *

 _"How do you feel lad?" James asked the boy when they were outside of the hospital tent._

 _"Hungry still," Rick mumbled._

 _"No shame in that at all," James said, squeezing his shoulder. "You're a growing boy and you should get along well with Junior."_

 _Nodding Rick let the man lead him towards the tent where the family was staying before he asked, "Will I have to go in the morning?"_

 _"Why would you? We'll take you in as this city is no place for a young boy all alone," James said firmly. When the boy jerked away he said, "Hey now, what's this?"_

 _"I don't want to be your son," Rick said firmly. He was startled when James chuckled and tensed himself to run if he was going to end up being in danger._

 _"You don't have to be, you'll be… our ward," the man replied. "Like in the old country though I can't promise you I'll train you to be a knight."_

 _"Knight?" Rick asked._

 _"Junior and I will have a grand time teaching you," James said with a smile. "But you'll be our ward if you'd like and the kids can be like your brother and sisters though I suppose good friends works too."_

 _Rick nodded vigorously, and they walked together back to the tent where Johanna was standing with her hands on her hips just outside, watching for them._

 _"She'll mother you," James said, squeezing the boy's shoulder quickly. "But only to make sure you're quite safe. Is that alright?"_

 _With a careful nod Rick watched as Kate ran up to him and took his hand saying, "Hello friend." A wide smile appeared on his face and she said, "Do you want to be our friend?"_

 _"Yeah," Rick replied, liking that better than ward since he had no idea what that word meant still. He looked at Johanna, thinking she would hug him, but was relieved when she merely put her arm around his shoulders comfortingly._

 _"You're still pale Richard," the woman said. "We have some bread and cheese, and thank goodness milk, you all need to keep up your strength."_

 _"Are we gonna have school Ma?" Junior asked, walking on the other side of his sister and smiling at Rick._

 _"Not yet but soon," Johanna said. "I'll have to teach you myself. And Junior; the King's English."_

 _"Sorry Ma," Junior said with a mischievous grin._

 _Sitting with the other three kids Rick felt much better, smiling at Kate while they ate their bread and cheese and drank the little milk they had in their tin cups. When he felt stronger with more food than the broth he'd gotten outside the hospital tent he said to the little girl, "I'm glad you almost crashed into me."_

 _Kate gave him a beaming smile and told the boy, "Me too. Can we play stickball together?"_

 _"Of course," Rick said firmly, not sure what his male friend would think but feeling like they should. When she smiled at him again he was smiling back, unable to help it as it was infectious. But as the three siblings started talking to him; learning more about him; he decided he was enjoying his new family. He thought of his mother but knew she would be relieved he wasn't on the streets of the city anymore. He hurried out of the tent to Johanna telling them to take care as they played stickball while the fate of San Francisco was still being decided to the east._

* * *

"So from that day I was one of the family but not quite since it took me a while to get over what I saw after the earthquake of course," Castle said.

"But that led you to want to join the Army," Beckett replied.

Nodding Castle said, "Though I thought I'd heard soldiers were told to shoot looters… but I never saw that so I never knew. Anyways from the Army I joined the police." He smiled and said, "Do you remember that at all?"

"I do now," Beckett said. "I remember thinking you were very tall."

Castle opened his mouth, about to say that he hadn't been that tall at nearly seven, before he stopped as he realized he was talking about himself in his current life. He then said, "Yeah, I went through a growth spurt just before the earthquake, but I wasn't as tall as I am now."

"No but…" Beckett began slowly.

"What?" Castle asked, watching her.

"I remember when I first started liking you," Beckett said with a smile.

"I-" Castle said before he cut himself off. "I do too but all I'm seeing is us playing in Mountain Lake Park right now."

"I'll tell you," Beckett said, pretending to be exasperated. "You were eleven and I was nearly ten. So we weren't insanely young."

"No," Castle replied. "Your parents were rich," he said, recalling the apartment they'd lived in.

"No, my father helped rebuild the home and the owner sold it to him before he moved back East," Beckett replied. "He was a carpenter, so he helped the rebuilding efforts and got paid with that."

"So he built the club himself," Castle said.

"He did," Beckett said. "But not for a while after we moved into that house."

"With four kids…" Castle said with a nod. "Okay so…"

Giving him a slight look Beckett began with, "We were right at the entrance to the park; since it was just around the block from our home on Lake."

"A very short walk," Castle said as he realized their house was right on the park. "Wow that guy must have wanted to leave badly."

"I think so," Beckett replied with a nod. "But we had the rooms with the view of the park; us kids. Rose and I… Skye and I," she began before she corrected herself with a smile.

Castle was a little surprised but then looked behind them and saw that the investigator and Darnley were swimming over to them. "How-" he began.

"We decided to come over," Skye said.

"Don't tease him," Beckett replied. "I motioned to them both to come over. So we were at Mountain Lake Park."

"I was there too," Darnley commented. He smiled when the others looked at him and he said, "I'm not seeing what you guys are, but I get… ideas."

"You'll probably get more," Beckett said. "Skye and I were playing with our jump ropes and you were playing with our brother."

"Stickball?" Castle asked.

"Stickball," Beckett echoed with a smile. "And we were playing when a boy came over to us after watching us for a while."

* * *

 _"Hey, watch out your ball you almost made me slip!" Rose called to the two boys._

 _"Aw we aren't that close," Junior replied._

 _"Should we go over there?" Rick asked his friend._

 _"We're fine here, now come on," Junior said as his younger sister had thrown the ball back to his friend. "Throw it over so I can hit it."_

 _After Rick had done so he watched as Junior hit it with a satisfying thwack and it flew past the girls who cried out in surprise. He started to run after it before he saw another boy grab it. "Throw it back?" he asked, not sure if the boy was going to try and steal it._

 _"Yeah," he said, tossing it over._

 _"Hey, you got a nice arm," Junior said, jogging over. "Wanna play with us?"_

 _"Sure," the boy replied._

 _"What's your name?" Rick asked._

 _"Patrick," the boy said with a slight smile._

 _"I'm Junior, this is Rick and those are my sisters Kate and Rose," he said. Junior glanced at the girls and said, "Wanna play too?"_

 _"Yeah," Kate said firmly. She hurried over to the boys and said, "I'll hit."_

 _"What if you get dirty?" Rick asked, looking at the girls' pinafore skirts and white blouses._

 _"You know Ma won't care," Rose said with a grin. "Come on, let Katie play."_

 _Junior handed the bat to his sister before he said, "I'll tell Ma you didn't let me say no."_

 _Sticking her tongue out at her brother Kate stood in front of Rick before he threw the ball to her and that started their play. The boy they had just met quickly fit in as he was very good throwing the ball and they played for some time until they stopped to take a break._

 _"Wish there was some ice," Rick panted as they sat in the shade._

 _"Me too," Rose said. She looked at Patrick and asked, "Where do you live?"_

 _"Over on Lake," the boy replied._

 _"Where?" Kate asked._

 _"Close to 11_ _th_ _," Patrick answered._

 _"We live on 12_ _th_ _, right on the corner," Junior said. "Let's get home." They all stood up and said, "We'll go with you first," to Patrick. "So we can get you to play again."_

 _The group started to walk through the park back to the nearest street which was where Patrick's house was. To do that they needed to walk through a group of boys going into the park when suddenly one of them broke off from the others with something flying from his hand as he hooted with laughter._

 _"My ribbon!" Kate cried out as she realized the blue ribbon the boy had was the one that had loosened from the large bow tied on her head. "Give that back!" She ran after the boy as he taunted her and was nearly in tears while he waved the ribbon in front of her. Eventually she stopped, her shoulders slumping before she did start to cry as she knew her mother wouldn't be pleased to find that new blue ribbon missing._

 _"Look at the baby," the boy said with a laugh, looking over at his friends. He was so distracted that he never saw the hands that shoved him down on the ground so hard he nearly bounced. Looking up with wide eyes he saw it was one of the boys that had been with the girls and seeing the expression on his face he scrambled up to race to his friends._

 _"Run!" Rick told the others as he saw the boy that had taken the ribbon had taken a stick from one of his friends. He went after the four until they were on Lake and in front of a yellow and white house._

 _"This is mine," Patrick panted. "See you."_

 _"Yeah," Junior said. They watched the boy go up the steps on the side of the house and he turned to his sisters and friend saying, "Should we get back home now?"_

 _"Ma will expect us," Rose commented. "It's almost time for supper."_

 _"Good, I'm hungry," Junior said before they paired off and walked down Lake to go to 12_ _th_ _._

 _"You okay?" Rick asked while he and Kate were walking together._

 _Nodding her head, the little girl didn't say anything as they were crossing 12_ _th_ _shortly after. When they were at their home she was planning to race up to the front door so she could try and get away from her mother as she knew the ribbon was likely at the park and gone when the boys they'd come up against got back to it. She was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder and asked, "What?" tearfully._

 _Rick didn't say anything, waiting for her siblings to disappear into the house before he held out the ribbon he'd managed to pick up before they'd took off running. He was startled at the joy on her face and was about to tell her to take it when she was suddenly moving._

 _"Oh Rick thank you!" Kate replied, throwing her arms around his neck. She quickly let go of him and took her ribbon saying shyly, "Thank you," again. "You didn't have to, what if those boys hurt you?"_

 _Shrugging Rick said, "Your da taught me fisticuffs and I know why now. And of course I had to, you're my friend."_

 _Kate giggled and she leaned over, kissing his cheek saying, "You're my friend too." She turned quickly and hurried to the house, hoping none of her family would ask why her cheeks were so red. In the parlor, she realized Rick hadn't followed her inside and she turned to the window looking out on 12_ _th_ _, seeing he was walking up to the front door, fingers pressing his cheek. She giggled again, smothering it when her mother called out to her before she ran to the kitchen and waving at the boy when she passed him at the front door._

* * *

"I think I shocked him when that happened," Beckett said with a smile.

"I think you did," Castle said in agreement. "And I didn't feel the same way, but I was probably always interested in you… if that makes sense."

"Try you couldn't imagine her not in your life," Skye suggested, she and Darnley exchanging a look. "It just took some time to get to that point where you thought of her that way."

"And since we we're boys that'll happen," Darnley said wryly.

"Why don't we go back to shore?" Beckett said, shaking her head at her friend though she was smiling.

When they were waist deep Skye said, "I have to ask, who exactly was Junior, or have we not met them yet?"

Glancing at his wife Castle said, "I'm not really sure."

"I think I have an idea," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when all three looked at her, startled, and she smiled saying, "Trevor."

"Trev… are you sure?" Darnley replied.

"Yes," Beckett said firmly. "I wasn't sure but seeing him walking over to us right now…"

"What?" Nkosi said in surprise when he saw his husband and their friends were looking up at him.

"Apparently you were their brother in that past life we were in," Darnley told his husband with a smile. He leaned over to him and kissed his cheek telling him, "And you were my sweetheart." He sighed and said, "But it's not the best story."

"I know," Nkosi said, patting his arm. "You have all told us about it but I'm glad we were together while we were then." He paused and said, "I never really was infatuated with you, was I?"

"We were like brothers," Castle assured the man since he was looking in his direction. "So no, it was Patrick you wanted. But we can't see the stuff involving you; you'll have to be the ones to remember that."

"Not sure if we can," Darnley commented. "So," he said as they looked over at everyone else in the water and on the beach. "What's up next?"

"Try to find the boys and Lanie to go on a walk," Beckett said as she could see Ryan but not the other two. "But I guess we'll have to wait."

When they were on the sand and they'd parted from Skye, Darnley and Nkosi, Castle walked up to Ryan and asked, "Where're Lanie and Esposito?"

"He went with Brad and David up to the Foster's house," the detective replied. "I think to show him some papers?"

"Yeah, he has some papers from the Hamptons PD for a case…" Beckett started to say before she looked at her former colleague in surprise.

"If it's for a case in the city then it was probably when I was off on vacation," Ryan replied. "Why he's getting them now I don't know."

"Before he forgets," Castle suggested with a shrug.

"Why did you ask?" Ryan said though he was speaking to both of them.

"We want to go on a walk down the beach; the five of us," Castle answered.

"To talk, there are a lot of us here," Beckett said when Ryan glanced at her.

"Great," he said. "But I don't know where Lanie is exactly; she might have gone up to your house."

"There she is," Beckett said before Castle pointed out that Esposito, David and Brad were walking down to the beach from the Foster house.

After getting the three to walk with them Castle and Beckett made their way down the beach in the same direction Julia and Mari had gone earlier.

"Do those papers help you at all?" Castle eventually asked Esposito.

"I won't know until I get them back to the city," the detective replied.

"Can we ask why papers the mayor out here has would help your case?" Lanie said.

"It's ongoing," Esposito said. He then told Castle and Beckett, "Your comment on unsolved cases reminded me of this one; there's a connection to the Hamptons but it's an old one."

With a nod Beckett was about to tell him that he should at least tell his partner when they were suddenly stopped by a scream. Looking ahead she saw they'd come to the house that was being rebuilt right before the path to the street and a woman wrapped haphazardly in a sheet was running to them.

"Please! Please help me, he needs help!" the woman sobbed heavily, falling onto the sand in front of them.

"Where?" Esposito asked.

"There… the house," the woman managed to pant out through her tears. "Upstairs…"

"I've got her, go," Lanie assured them.

Castle and Beckett followed Ryan and Esposito into the house, the fence in the gate surrounding it wide open from the woman leaving. They found the stairs and went down the hall together until Ryan stopped first.

"Oh man," Esposito breathed out.

"Get Lanie," Beckett told the two. When they'd left them, she stepped closer to the body, studying the knife in his chest before she shook her head.

"Yeah, he's dead," Castle said grimly as they stepped away from the body, watching out for the trail of blood that was slowly inching its way over the clean boards of the new floor.


	4. What It Used To Be

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was pleased reading the feedback for the last chapter, so I'll get to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I was of course happy that you thought it was so good to see Paul and Nancy right at home with the Castles as you said. It's why I had them visit after Josie was born, so they would be when they returned for the 4th. And I'm not surprised in the slightest that you like the gang is back together, I definitely expected readers to have that reaction!),

Mb (It was nice to see your reaction to the prologue and how this story started. And I was intending the beginning with the two lovers to make the story start out slow, so I was glad you caught onto that! I wasn't surprised that you mentioned the kids with the firecrackers. And I also wasn't surprised at your reaction to the woman getting up and finding her lover pinned to the door with the knife through him. Happy to see you thought it was a great start! And you're welcome for posting!),

Mb (Great you thought the last chapter was fantastic, funny and a sweet update too! I'm of course happy to see you thought it was a fantastic party since their friends and family were there too. I wasn't surprised that you mentioned Paul, Nancy and Beatrice have become part of their extended family, lol, but they have of course. I also wasn't surprised to see that you were happy to see everyone from the city there, I figured readers would be with this one, lol. And not surprised you mentioned Esposito keeping Castle and Beckett informed about Tyson since you finished up my story Save The Last Dance For Me. And I'm glad you enjoyed that story with the pulse pounding first half, as you said. And then the second half setting up things with them in the Hamptons. I'm glad you know now why exactly they're living there and writing together, lol, I always had the thought that it would work but the one thing that would get them there was Tyson and the threat of him and his followers being there. I'm not surprised you're wondering in a future story that he might come back and strike out against Castle and Beckett as you said, you'll have to see, lol. But really happy you thought it was fantastic. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the wedding in it too. You're very welcome for posting the first half! And happy of course that you thought it was a fantastic update for the second half of the chapter! Great you loved the flashbacks of their past life since I had a lot of fun writing those two. And not surprised you thought it was, as you said, what a way for Castle and Beckett to meet with the tragedy of the devastation from the earthquake and then Castle becoming an orphan. And from that finding family and friends and then his future love; which I love how you worded it; Beckett. I wasn't surprised that you mentioned everyone else having flashbacks in a way cemented the connection they and the extended family shared. So pleased that you thought I brought back the prologue with the murder seamlessly since of course that's what I wanted to do! Nice reading you thought the second half was fantastic and amazing. And you're very welcome for sharing!),

MsNYC (Great you thought the way the killing was was very intriguing. And happy to see that you thought it was a beautiful day at the beach for them. Not surprised at your reaction to the city family being there, lol. I was really pleased that you were glad to see Paul there too, lol. And you know I didn't think of it like that, the victim murdered just shy of a police family gathering as you put it. And great you thought Julia's gift was a sweet one. Not surprised you mentioned the flashbacks, lol, but I'm glad you liked them and that they were past Castle and Beckett, lol. I wasn't surprised either that you were glad the gang was back together for a case but also hate that it's going to cut into the family time. But at least you're still happy! And of course, happy to read you thought it was great writing in both chapters as usual!) and

vetgirlmx (Not surprised to see you think that it would be really cool if the boys and Lanie are going to be involved with the investigation too. And not surprised either that you forgot Paul and his family were going to be there. And I figured he would integrate quickly, not fully at this point, lol, but with him knowing Castle and Beckett first and then Skye and Mary it would help, lol. Also, Julia would help too, lol. Yeah, when I realized how many were there I counted and came up with that number so you're right, it's some party, lol. Not surprised that you were very glad Julia and Mari didn't go into the house with the guy was being murdered and I agree it was a very close call, lol. Great you loved the flashbacks! And yeah, I had mentioned how they met but I wanted to detail it more. And wanted to show when Patrick showed up. Glad you thought how he joined their story made sense. I'm not surprised you thought it was obvious that Trevor was Junior, lol, I figured you would have thought of that first. And with them not thinking that through it is because when they had flashbacks it was after the case where he was murdered. And like you said, who else could he be really, lol. Not surprised again that you can't wait to see what happens next with the way I ended the chapter, lol, or that you don't care if they have to make a brief pause in their party. But now you don't have to wait anymore for that!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them and appreciate the time taken to write them and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

What It Used To Be

Running down the sand Brad said to his friends, "What happened?"

"Ms. Ashby over here ran outside," Esposito started. "Screaming and telling us that he needed help."

"Did she say who that was?" the chief asked.

"No, she's been in shock," Ryan said as they were looking over at the woman who'd run out of the house. "Sobbing and tearing at that sheet."

"Is she nude?" Brad said, startled.

"She is, I'm going to guess she and the man inside were lovers," Castle said.

"Great guess," Beckett said wryly. "The man inside is nude as well. He's been stabbed by a machete."

"Machete," Brad said, not repeating her word but saying it out of shock. He frowned and said to Castle and Beckett, "Is the house finished?"

"No, not all the rooms upstairs have walls," Ryan said. "We caught where they were together, there was a mattress in what I'm guessing is supposed to be the master bedroom."

"Where's Lanie?" Brad then asked.

"She's inside looking at the body," Beckett replied. "Skye," she said to the investigator who was coming over.

"Lily called 911," Skye said. "They'll be here soon."

"I got a hold of Bernier, they'll have CSU and he, Rice and Hutchinson out here," Brad told them. "In the meantime, I'll head up."

"I don't think you two are invited," Skye said, going to the boys and holding them by their arms.

"Invited, we found the body," Esposito said a little angrily.

"You're witnesses, not the police," Skye said. When the detective glared at her she said simply, "If they want you to consult they will ask Brad."

"And you?" Ryan asked.

"I'll wait, they might not need me since there are-" Skye began to say before the woman near them began to scream and tried pulling off the towel Lanie had put around her.

* * *

"Looks like it went right through the door," Brad said once they were inside the room where the body was. "So yeah, a machete but I can see why you'd think it was a knife at first since there isn't much of the hilt."

"It'd have to take some force to do that," Castle commented. When his wife and friend looked at him he said, "This door is oak. So you realize what that means right?"

"And here we go," Brad sighed as he saw that Beckett was rolling her eyes.

"Come on, it's the Hulk it has to be," Castle commented.

"We'll keep that in mind," Brad said as he glanced to the window though it wasn't facing the street at the sound of sirens. "What about your guests?"

"Are you asking us on the case?" Castle asked.

"Do you want to come back?" Brad returned.

"We will but after this is vacation," Beckett said as she knew they could go back and forth with that for a while.

Hearing voices in the house Brad walked out into the hall and called the CSU team up to them before he followed Castle and Beckett to the top of the stairs. "Bernier, where are Rice and Hutchinson?"

"They're outside trying to calm the woman down," the officer replied.

"She's been screaming the entire time," Castle said.

"Oh no, she's freaking out, she's hanging onto Skye, naked," Bernier replied.

Looking with her husband and the chief out the windows that made the back wall of the home Beckett could see that Hutchinson was holding onto Ashby while Skye was holding a blanket over the woman. "I'll be back," she said with a sigh.

"You don't-" Castle started to say before his wife hurried down the stairs.

"I'm surprised, figured you'd be alright with that," Brad said wryly to his friend. He looked back at Bernier and said, "Have they started looking into the house?"

"Of course," the officer replied. "But they just started so it's going to be a little more time before we hear anything from them."

"Right…" Brad said, looking down at his trunks, shirt; that he'd thrown on running to the house at Castle and Beckett's summons; and sandals. Sighing he said, "Let's try and find his ID."

When Beckett got outside she saw the EMTs were trying to get the woman to get on the board that they had but she was screaming and crying. She went straight to Skye; who was the main one pulling on her to get her away from Hutchinson; and grabbed a hold of Ashby to get her off the sand. "We'll get her to your ambulance," she told the EMTs as she knew there was no way to get the woman on that board without strapping her down.

"Alright Layla," Skye was telling the woman soothingly once they were close enough to the vehicle. "We're going to do what we can to help to find out who did this to Aidan."

It was a slight struggle, as suddenly Ashby was hanging onto Skye, but Beckett managed to gently pry her off before she and an EMT got the woman onto the stretcher that was inside. "Okay," she breathed out once Ashby was strapped down and the doors were closing. "Seems she liked you," she commented as the woman had been visibly pressing against her and burying her face into her chest.

"So glad Mary's not here," Skye muttered. "And I have a shirt on. What's the story?"

"We're working on the case," Beckett said.

"Is she asking her to help?" Esposito was saying to Ryan.

"I think so, yeah," his partner said, looking over at him. "Why? We're on vacation remember."

"We were here, we can help them solve this case and get back to vacation," Esposito replied. "What does she know?"

"I'm a psychologist," Skye aid as she and Beckett had come up to the men in time to hear that.

"And I'm going to ask you both to help," Beckett added. "If you're done throwing a tantrum."

"Sorry," Esposito said. He glanced past them and said, "Is that alright?"

"I guess," Brad replied though he wasn't sure what the man was asking.

"But five consultants?" Ryan asked, guessing from the chief's expression why he looked unsure suddenly.

"Oh sure," Brad said quickly. "I'm fine with it and you guys are all experienced. But I do need to check with the mayor about this."

"He'll be fine with it," Castle said as he'd been with the chief going outside. When Brad was called to by Bernier he turned to the others and said, "So we're working together again."

"Sure, I'm not in the way or anything here?" Skye asked them.

"No, we're going to need your help with Ms. Ashby," Beckett said. "What she went through in this house…"

"It might be shock," Skye replied. "Or an act," she added before looking down the beach.

"On the case _grá_?" Mary asked as she was walking to them with David and Darnley.

"We are," Skye said. "I wonder…"

"I don't know if I should join you," Darnley said since the investigator and Beckett were looking at him. "Six people?"

"He's right," Brad said, coming over.

"Then I'll take myself out," Skye said. "Darnley would be a far better asset."

"At least speak to Ashby," Castle replied.

Breathing out for a moment Skye nodded before she said, "There's Lanie."

"Dr. Parrish," the local ME Thayer said as he spotted the woman.

"Stab to the chest, ran him clear through and it has him pinned to the door; good luck," Lanie replied.

"How do you know him?" Ryan asked the doctor.

"Conference three years ago," Lanie replied.

Esposito was about to ask Castle and Beckett if they were aware of that when he saw immediately the news was no shock. He said instead, "So what's your next step?"

"We all need to change," Beckett said first. "And tell the others that we're about to become horrible hosts."

"You do realize they all know what you do here," Mary commented.

"You mean besides write?" Castle asked.

"Okay, Skye he's saying he wants you to join in," Brad said, coming back to the group after he had spoken to David.

"You can never have too many people looking into a case," the mayor said. "But it'll be a divide and conquer situation. You won't all be going out into the field if you need to for any reason, only who Brad wants to take."

"Chief Davis," the man murmured.

Glancing at him David said to Castle and Beckett, "What are your plans with regards to the party?"

"We're going to head back and break it up," Beckett said.

"Just in the fact that it's not a party anymore," Castle was quick to say.

With a nod Beckett added, "They can stay on the beach and use the house if they need to but we're splitting up for dinner like we said before."

"Alright, I'll head back but you can tell them," David said.

"Gee thanks," Castle said jokingly. When they were alone again he said to the boys, "To warn you-"

"He'll take you two out to any place you have to go," Ryan finished for him.

Beckett was going to tell the two men they might go as well since they had experience when she saw the ME and his aides were bringing out the body. She saw the machete on the stretcher and she glanced at her husband before the group was out of sight.

"Alright, we need to get ready to start this investigation," Brad said once he was back with them. "And this house is shut down."  
Castle took his wife's hand as there wasn't really anything he could say to that and they walked together back down the beach to their home where they saw their guests were all waiting for them.

The sight surprised Beckett as well and she thought about what they could say exactly before Paul was speaking and taking the need for that right out of her hands.

"So you've a body," the singer stated. He smiled briefly when the two looked startled and said, "Skye said you would say it like that. But you've got to go?"

"We do, the mayor wants us to work on the case," Castle said, looking at Eliza who was stomping on the water with Tommy. He realized something and said, "Where's Julia?"

"I don't know," Alexis called as she was walking down the lawn in frustration. "She went inside; she said she was just going to go to the bathroom but she hasn't come back and I looked all over the house."

"I know where she is," Beckett said with a slight sigh. "Leave her," she said when the rest of her family; except for Eliza and Josie; looked at her in surprise. "I'll get her but for now we have to change and go. We'll hopefully be back for dinner." She turned her attention to the McCartneys, McDouglases and Darnley's family telling them, "I'm so sorry we have to go but Julia and Eliza have things they can do with your kids of course both here and in the house. And we'll be back for dinner… whatever that is."

"Don't worry," Nancy commented. "I think it's important you help."

"It is," Castle said. "But let's hope we'll finish before the fourth."

"Do you really help investigate a murder?" Beatrice was suddenly saying before anyone else could say anything.

"We do, I was doing that back in the city," Beckett replied. "Alright, we'll call and let you know when we're on our way back."

"We might grab dinner," Castle added.

"We'll see," Martha commented.

"Or they can order," Castle told his wife.  
"Come on," Beckett said with a slight smile at him before they began making their way around their guests who would be staying at the house. After they'd said goodbye to them all she led the way up to their home but instead of going up the stairs when she'd reached them she went over to the garage, letting go of her husband who was quick to follow.

Castle had no idea why his wife was going out to their cars, but he remained in the doorway before she opened the back door of the car they usually used when it was just them.

"Come on," Beckett told Julia as it wasn't hard to spot her daughter crouched down in the back. "Out of the car sweetie."

With a heavy sigh the girl climbed out of the backseat and said, "I wanted to go."

"Of course you did but Julia we told you," Beckett said, putting her arm around her shoulders to lead her into the house. "You're too young to investigate cases. Plus, we need you to help your grandparents with everyone that's here."

"Won't 'lexis?" Julia asked, slightly annoyed at being found and having to go back.

"But you need to help keep the kids entertained," Beckett said. "That and aren't the twins and Fleur your friends?"

Sighing Julia nodded and said, "She is but…"

"Brad and David won't let you help out," Castle said. "So better you help us here."

At the frown on their daughter's face Beckett told her firmly, "Please Julia."

"Alright," Julia said with another sigh. She let her mother lead her over to the door to the back and said, "Will you tell me about the case?"

Recalling Ashby not keeping the sheet or blanket over her Castle glanced at his wife as he had to wonder what she would say to that.

"What we can," Beckett said simply. "Go on okay?"

"Sure but… you'll say goodbye before you leave, right?" Julia asked.

"Of course," Beckett assured her before she watched Julia leave them to head down to where everyone was still on the beach. With her set, she closed the door and she and her husband headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

While Beckett had changed in the room Castle had stayed in the closet to change into his clothes before he stepped out saying, "You know what's weird?"

"What?" Beckett asked, brushing her hair in the full-length mirror. When her husband didn't say anything she turned her head, looking at him questioningly as he seemed to be frozen.

"I'm so glad I bought you those shirts," Castle said breathily.

"Yeah well… so am I," Beckett said, slightly hesitant as she was a little embarrassed at his reaction. She had slipped on a polo shirt and jeans; not sure what else to wear investigating in the middle of summer; and that shirt was one of five Ralph Lauren tops her husband had bought her the year before in the city though she'd asked him not to. He'd insisted; as he'd explained he'd always thought of her when he saw the recognizable logo; and had asked her to pick her colors or he would choose some he knew she didn't like. She'd chosen three in varying shades of light blue, a dark blue and what she was wearing then, a cerulean blue. She shook herself and said, "We should go."

"Yeah," Castle said before he walked after her to the door. Before she could step out into the hall he was reaching for her arm, taking her wrist before he pulled her to him gently. "You had to have known I was going to do this," he told her jokingly.

"I knew," Beckett said with a slight smirk before she cupped his face in her hands and they kissed. She wasn't surprised it was immediately passionate; since they'd hadn't had the chance after that morning; or when she soon felt her husband clutching at her. Letting that go for a little while longer she finally carefully disengaged herself from him, brushing her thumb over his lower lip before she took his hand.

"Was wondering if I should go over there and pick you up," Darnley said with a slight smile as the pair reached him at the top of the staircase.

"We want to head out," Beckett said wryly. "Where's Skye?"

"Already finished and she's probably down at the beach with her family," Darnley said.

"You really didn't have-" Castle started to say while they were heading down the stairs.

"It's alright," Darnley interrupted him. "I'm actually a little… eager to help out."

"It's been a while since we've done this," Beckett said with a slight smile.

Castle, watching them, wondered if they'd have the chance to work together during that case. As they were going outside to the backyard he made a note to himself to let them if possible as he knew they enjoyed it though last time he'd been with them. He turned his attention to the yard as their two daughters were running up to them while Alexis followed, walking since she was carrying Josie.

"Oh Mommy, Daddy you have to come home for dinner," Eliza said, holding onto Castle's hand.

"Of course we will," he replied, picking her up. He kissed her cheek and told her, "We'll try to come as soon as possible."

"He's right," Beckett said. "Like we always do. This case is no different from the others." She tried to take Julia's hand to pull her into a hug before the girl pulled away to her surprise. She wanted to ask her what was wrong when Castle was handing Eliza to her making her say, "You are getting heavier for this sweetie," teasingly.

"Do you have to put me down?" Eliza asked.

"No," Beckett said with a smile before she kissed her cheek and shared a kiss with her as the little girl and Castle had done. "Alright, have fun but listen both of you," she said, looking at Julia as well.

"We will," the girl said with a smile.

Beckett, feeling relieved at the smile on her oldest's face, turned to her stepdaughter so she could take Josie. She held the baby against her shoulder before she murmured tenderly as Josie was moving her arms and legs against her.

"She wants to go swimming," Castle commented.

Laughing softly Beckett pressed a kiss to Josie's temple and told her, "No swimming yet sweetie. But we'll try to come back to you and your sisters as soon as we can." She leaned back a little and nuzzled her nose to her youngest's saying, "Be a good girl Josie."

With a smile, as their baby had nearly grabbed her mother's nose by chance, Castle took her and said, "One day really soon we'll take you swimming… maybe the pool or maybe in Orlando."

"Maybe," Beckett told him with a smile. She turned to Alexis and said, "Make sure they're comfortable without us here."

"I'm sure Gram will do that," the young woman replied. "But I get the feeling you're talking about the kids."

"I am," Beckett said. "Your gram has been a hostess already."

"She has," Alexis said slightly laughingly. She took Josie from her father and said, "Be careful."

"We will," Beckett said, glancing over at Julia again.

"Your gram and Jim?" Castle asked.

"Do you want them to come over?" Alexis asked.

"That's okay," Beckett said swiftly as she saw her father was holding Lily and Martha was walking with Danny. She waved with Castle as they looked over to them and she told her stepdaughter, "Just let them know that the others don't need to stay for dinner or here for that matter."

"I will," Alexis said, turning to go back down to the beach with her sisters. She paused as she quickly noticed Julia wasn't with them and said, "Jules-"

"I'll go in a second," the girl said hurriedly. Julia watched her sisters head back to the beach and she turned to her parents telling them, "I almost forgot something."

"Okay," Beckett said since her oldest had looked to her.

"When Mari and I went to walk two boys came up behind us," Julia began, wondering if it was important at all. "They went towards the house that you were in front of."

"You think they did something at the house?" Castle asked, surprised as he didn't remember seeing the boys she was talking about.

"Maybe, they had firecrackers," Julia said.

"How do you know?" Beckett asked, sharing a glance with her husband and knowing he remembered hearing those going off. She froze and said to him in Irish, " _Just before we started to walk_."

" _More than one_ ," Castle said before they turned their attention to their daughter.

"Um… when we were by the house that's being made," Julia began, trying to dig her toe into the ground. "I thought we should go because something was wrong."

"Come back here?" Castle asked.

Though she didn't want to Julia finally shook her head no and said, "To go in."

"I'm glad David and I called them back," Castle said to his wife.

Nodding Beckett turned to their daughter and said, "You know you shouldn't go into houses."

"I know but even if I was going to I couldn't," Julia said. "I didn't know which house and then the gate was closed."

"When you walked by it?" Beckett asked her.

"Yeah," Julia replied, suddenly becoming serious as she realized it might be important.

"Could you tell if it was locked?" Beckett asked.

Think for a minute, Julia closed her eyes tightly as she tried to see the moment in her mind before she shook her head, "I don't think so, but I didn't look at it for that."

"That's alright," Beckett said, hugging her. "Do you remember what those boys looked like?"

"Yeah," Julia said. "Mari might too," she told her parents.

"Would we need to?" Castle asked his wife.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said slowly. "We'll tell Brad when we see him," she added. She looked at Julia and said, "Keep trying to remember what they looked like okay?"

"Sure," Julia replied, wondering for a moment what they were talking about. She then said, "Do you need me to help them draw their faces?"

"For the sketch artist to draw," Beckett corrected her. "And we might not need that but if you can tell us what they look like we should be able to find them."

Julia nodded and said, "Tell you or Brad?"

"Brad," Castle said. He watched her rush to him and he hugged her tightly saying, "We'll let your grandparents know if you need to come to the station."

Nodding Julia went to her mother and embraced her tightly before she said, "Be safe."

"Of course," Beckett said. "Have fun."

Julia nodded and took off down to the beach so she could go to Mari and tell her what her parents had said about recalling the two boys.

Castle and Beckett waited for Darnley, Skye and the boys to join them before they walked together to the driveway so they could get into their cars and leave. They were with Darnley and the investigator in their car; the same one Julia had tried to hide in; when Beckett's phone began to ring.

"It's Brad," she told everyone when she looked at the number and saw it was the chief's name. "What happened?" she asked in greeting as she put it on speaker.

"You need to get over to the hospital," Brad said.

"Did something happen to Ashby?" Castle said.

"No, I need you two to talk to her," Brad said. "Turns out that neither of them owns the house."

"Is he usually that abrupt?" Darnley asked in surprise when the chief had hung up.

"No," Castle said. "He was driving himself."

"Alright so… you're talking to them," Darnley said slowly.

"I don't know," Beckett said, glancing back at her friend. She wasn't surprised when he was looking at her in slight confusion and she said quickly, "He might have something in mind or else we'll just go in the three of us." She looked at her husband and said, "Are you-"

"Yeah," Castle said quickly as he turned at the next light they'd come to, going in the direction of the hospital.

"You've been quiet," Beckett said, directing that to Skye.

"I've been thinking," the investigator replied. "Just the circumstances. I have to wonder at Ashby's emotions."

"You think they were faked?" Darnley asked.

"I'm not sure," Skye said with a sigh. "I would like to talk to her myself."  
"He might want you to," Castle said. He then said, "You should call the boys."

"They're following and we're here," Beckett said. "You need to watch where you're going."

"Good advice," Castle commented as he was going through the parking lot of the hospital.

"Why are we here?" Ryan asked when they'd met up with the four outside their cars.

"Brad called me," Beckett said. "He wants us here."

"Why?" Esposito asked.

"Because I want to have Beckett and Skye speak with Ashby," the chief said as he walked up to them.

"Is she asking for us?" the latter asked.

"Yeah," Brad said simply. "But not by name, just the woman who was wearing trunks and the woman with the ponytail."

Breathing out for a moment, Skye said, "I don't like it."

"Why?" Beckett asked, slightly surprised the woman had said that.

"Because it's like she anticipated this," Skye said. "And also the fact she's not officially talking to anyone from the law. Officially."

"No, I understood," Beckett said since her friend had said the last word apologetically. "Do you need time to plan."

"Nope," Skye said with a pseudo-American accent. "Now the time has come for improv."

"And for that we split up," Brad said.

"Split up?" Castle asked.

"Take them," the chief began, nodding to the boys and Darnley. "To the station. "I'll stay with Beckett and Skye and we'll regroup."

"What exactly are we going to be doing at the station?" Esposito asked.

"Getting information on the house's actual owner, Roro Soverall," Brad told them. "He's from the city."

"I can give Ojala a call," Ryan said. "He's a new detective, he's worked with us on a case."

"Trustworthy?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, he's not a fan of Gates," Esposito said. "Apparently her and his father got into some kind of disagreement while they were both at IA."

"Give them a call," Brad said. "We'll be grateful for the information." When the four men had left he turned and said, "I could have let them stay but I'm lucky they're letting you two into her room."

"We should go before they change their minds," Skye commented. When they were inside and going up to the fifth floor in an elevator she commented, "You've been quiet now."

"Not for that long," Beckett said though she wasn't really protesting. "Do you know anything about the vics?"

"They're both from the city," Brad replied. "That was all I could get. They have no home or apartment here in the Hamptons and to be honest our initial search isn't giving us a connection between them and here."

"The house?" Beckett and Skye said at the same time.

"It has to be Langston," the former said.

"Hopefully she'll let you know," Brad said as they stepped off the elevator when it stopped. He walked ahead of them, talking to the nurse behind the desk for a moment before he went to where they were standing just behind him. "She's in 534, lucid since she was screaming at them not to drug her."

Frowning Skye said, "She calmed down on her own?"

"I asked," Brad said, nodding to her figuring that out. "And she took a long time to do that." He motioned to the hall where the rooms were and said, "I need to wait out here but take this," handing Beckett a notepad. "Write what you can."

"If I can," Beckett said. When the chief looked at her questioningly she explained, "If she doesn't want me using it."

"I can record on my phone," Skye said, tapping it in her shirt pocket. "Let's go," she directed to Beckett. They walked together down the hall before she made her friend pause outside the room so she could start the recorder. She opened the door, letting Beckett step inside first before she looked at Ashby on the bed. The woman's eyes widened at the sight of them before she quickly turned away, making her and Beckett share a look before she went to sit next to the bed while her friend stood next to her. They waited, wondering if the woman would speak at all, before she decided to start the conversation before Ashby was speaking though still with her head turned to the window.

"You're the writer, aren't you?" the woman asked.

"I am," Beckett said, taking a moment as she still wasn't used to being referred to as that without Castle with her. "But in this case, I'm a consultant with the police. And so is Skye here."

"The one from your book?" Ashby said, turning her head.

"That's a character," Skye said simply. "But you requested to talk to us, any reason why?"

Breathing out Ashby replied, "I didn't want to talk to the police and you were both really… you helped me on the beach."

"We had to you were in a very pronounced state of shock," Skye said. She saw Beckett's finger tap a few times on the arm of her chair and she said, "But are you able to speak about what happened? We would like to do what we could for Aidan your…"

"He was my boyfriend," Ashby said, tears welling in her eyes. "Aidan Langston; I don't know if you know who he is."

"We do," Beckett said. "We also found out that that was not your home."

"No, we were…" Ashby said before she sighed heavily. "My brother in law bought the old home and he was rebuilding it."

"So he knew you were there," Skye commented.

"No," Ashby said, seeming to shrink within herself. She looked at Skye and said so softly that they almost didn't hear her, "He's my ex brother in law."

"Your sister's ex," Beckett said.

"He is," Ashby replied slowly. "He and my sister had a messy divorce and the house is supposed to be hers since she put up the money for it."

"He got it in the divorce," Skye stated.

Nodding her head Ashby said, "We went there to kind of… stick it to him though he's in Hawaii right now and he wouldn't know. But we were joking, pretending it was his… Aidan's."

Not surprised when the woman began to cry again Beckett glanced behind her at Skye who was walking around the bed. She was startled at the move but by the woman's stance figured she had something in mind. She herself was tempted to ask about their vic but when the investigator spoke she realized Skye's mind had taken a different direction quickly.

"Did Aidan and Soverall know each other?" the investigator inquired.

"No, I've only been dating Aidan for seven months," Ashby replied.

Thinking about that for a moment Beckett said, "When was the last time you saw Soverall?"

"A year ago, when he and my sister were still married," Ashby replied.

Getting an idea from that; and putting it aside for later; Beckett said, "Do you think you might be able to tell us what happened earlier in the house?"

Ashby, who'd been holding the sheet that was covering her lap, started to twist it in between her hands and she then said, "I was… we were together."

"We figured," Skye said simply.

"He brought a mattress, but I don't know where he got it…" Ashby began again.

"Where were you before you went to the house?" Beckett asked.

"We planned this… I don't know how it happened, but my sister got some renderings for the rooms in the mail; the company Soverall is using sent them to her," Ashby began. "That was last Thursday so Aidan and I decided we would go and just…" She buried her face in her hands and said against them, "It's stupid I know but I just hate him for what he put my sister through."

"And Aidan was okay doing that?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, he heard from me what happened to my sister," Ashby replied. "And he was fully in agreement. Plus I… was… thinking of…"  
"Squatting and taking the property?" Beckett finished for the woman who'd slowed down in her speech considerably.

"We looked into the laws here and we saw my sister and I could come here, change the locks and we would get the house after a year," Ashby replied. "We'd wait until the house was nearly finished and move in and Jill would be able to decorate it like she wanted to."

"That's an old law," Beckett said swiftly. When the woman looked at her she said, "It's been changed to if the owners did not give permission the police can throw the squatters out."

"Oh," Ashby said. "Well… I'm not going to do it now."

"So you and Aidan were together," Skye said to bring the conversation back to the murder.

"Yes, and then these stupid… I don't know who they were but they or one person had firecrackers and were setting them off by the house," Ashby answered. "So Aidan got up and went to talk to them and I could hear him but because the master bedroom was angled a certain way I don't know what he said."

"What were you doing at that point?" Skye asked.

"Recovering," Ashby said slowly. "And then I went on my phone when he didn't come back, and I realized he still wasn't back so… I looked for him and saw him and ran out of the house," she said, dissolving into tears the second she'd finished speaking.


	5. What It Used To Be (Part 2)

"What do you think?" Castle asked his wife.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said. She hesitated for a moment before she said, "She barely weighs a hundred and ten pounds though she wasn't letting go of Hutchinson earlier… or Skye."

"So she's a person of interest," Castle stated.

"She's going to have to be," Brad said, walking into his office. He looked at everyone there and said, "Great, I don't have to repeat this. I checked her story with Jill Ashby and it's true and they were there to scout the place. The sex was a weird way to stick it to Soverall. But I have an empty home and one other person in it who could wield that machete."

"Why don't you arrest her?" Esposito asked.

"I have no evidence," Brad said. "According to Thayer, the way he was stabbed would have resulted in some kind of mist of blood."

"You're going to check her?" Ryan asked.

"Already done, I requested it of the hospital as soon as Thayer told me that," Brad began, setting a picture of Ashby on the murder board under the suspect heading. "They checked her with black light and she was clean."

"Time of death-" Esposito began.

"Was at twelve fifty," Brad interrupted. "You guys got to the house about twelve fifty-two so her sense of time was messed up. And I asked, cleaning with bleach that quickly we would have smelled it on her since there's no water right now in that house."

"What exactly do you do?" Ryan asked. "If it were our captain we'd focus solely on her as she would be the main suspect."

"And that's why I'm glad you guys are here," Brad replied.

"We're not cops out here though," Esposito said, sharing a look with his partner.

"It'll basically be what we do," Beckett told them.

"Desk work?" Esposito asked.

"You can head back to our place or your hotel," Castle commented.

"Nah, we'll stay," Esposito replied. "So we're looking into her."

"As much as you can," the chief told them. "Plus; you didn't let me say; you guys will be invaluable with this because my connection to the city is very old."

"And Langston?" Ryan asked.

"I have Rice looking into him so take one of the spare desks there," Brad said. "Not the one closest to this office, that's Castle and Beckett's. If you need anything at all ask one of my officers and they'll provide you with some assistance."

Beckett looked at her husband before she said to Brad in a low tone, "What do you have?"

The chief didn't answer at first, instead he went over to the door, closing it slightly and turning to the four behind him telling Skye, "You can open that now," waiting for her to open the manila envelope near her and the reaction he would get about what was inside.

"When did you get this?" the investigator said in surprise.

"Just now from the company that runs the security camera," Brad said absently as he was getting something from his desk.

"There's one on the house looking down on the construction company's trailer," Skye said, handing the picture in her hand to Beckett. "See if you can spot the issue."

"Trev told me she does that," Darnley said, standing with Castle and Beckett so he could look at the picture too.

"Not for fun I can tell you that," Skye said wryly. "What do you have in mind to do now?" she directed to Brad.

"I've requested footage from today," the chief said. "Now they haven't sent it yet but I'm hoping they'll get it to me soon."

"When was this taken?" Castle asked as the door on the trailer was slightly open.

"I asked for a screenshot about twenty minutes ago," Brad replied. "I thought I'd seen that door open but wasn't sure."

"We never asked Ashby about the trailer," Skye commented.

"Why would we?" Beckett asked.

"Did you notice it?" Skye asked her.

"I did but only briefly, there were a lot of other things we needed to worry about," Beckett answered.

"You think that someone hid out there and went into the house?" Castle asked.

"I would except it makes no real sense," Brad replied.

"No, it does," Darnley said. "There's always the possibility they were there overnight. Shelter," he said, adding the second word when the others started to look confused.

"He's right," Skye said. "Where else would you have such a fabulous spot to hide out? Right next to the house and fully enclosed unlike the house right now."

"Good idea," Brad replied. "I'll have to call CSU to take a look at it. Also, when we get there someone remind me if I forget to test that door."

"What about calling the construction company?" Darnley asked.

"I'll do that right now… hopefully they might know about that trailer door," Brad said.

"You're not going to let the boys come with us?" Beckett was swift to ask before the chief could pick up his phone.

"Yes, but these two are going to have to stay," Brad said.

"That's fair plus we can take a look at what they've gotten so far," Skye said to Darnley.

"Right on," the man said. He laughed slightly when Beckett smacked his shoulder with the back of her hand and said, "Sorry. Oh, you know I just remembered what about Julia's sighting of those boys who were around the house?"

"I forgot," Beckett said before she looked over at the chief who was by then speaking to whoever the owner of the construction company was.

"Alright, thank you," Brad said. "I'm calling CSU; we have permission to look and that door doesn't open suddenly."

"I'll tell the boys," Castle told his wife.

Nodding Beckett watched him go before she said to Darnley, "That doesn't annoy you?"

"It's definitely not my jurisdiction," the man replied with a slight smile. "And I guess with more people this'll be solved a lot faster and we can go back to our vacation."

"We can," Skye said with a slight smile.

"Yeah, it's… a constant vacation," Beckett said. "Though I will point out I work on cases too."

"Not unlike right now," Brad said as he'd hung up in time to hear that. "Alright so they're on their way and I want to be there when they arrive in case there's anything at all. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"You still heard that?" Darnley asked in surprise.

"Learned how to multi-task," Brad said. "And can it be told to me right away?"

"We'll go with you," Beckett said as her husband walked back into the office with the boys right behind him. "Anything?"

"Yeah, turns out her sister works for the DA in the city," Esposito said. "And that house hasn't been worked on for months."

"Months?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"You haven't noticed?" Ryan asked.

"The outside of the house is finished," Castle said first.

"They moved to the inside… well I guess they did and then they must have stopped," Beckett added. She said to the boys, "What did she do to stop them?"

"Apparently there was a prenup," Esposito answered.

"Lost?" Castle asked.

"No, well, the husband had hidden it and a connection at the DA took the record of it," Esposito replied.

"Yeah, the two of them are in jail right now," Ryan said.

"Wait a second," Skye said, looking at her friend.

"Ashby said the ex-husband was in Hawaii," Beckett said with a frown.

"Was he recently imprisoned?" Castle asked.

"He was, yesterday," Ryan answered. "He was in Hawaii though and arrested there."

"So she was right she just didn't know about this yet," Skye said. She then asked, "So he has a motive with the home then."

"He does," Brad said. "Though did you start looking into him?"

"We didn't have the chance before Castle came to get us," Ryan answered.

"Alright, Darnley I'm not sure if you can have any luck but give it a shot," Brad said.

"I will," the man said.

The six that were heading back to the home went out to the parking lot where all the squad cars were, Brad telling the boys to park in front of the house as they would walk to the trailer from there.

"The guy from the construction company didn't mention they weren't working on the house?" Castle asked once he and Beckett were in the chief's squad car.

"No but he was driving so I'm guessing he wanted to keep from getting a ticket before that point," Brad replied simply. He then turned to Beckett and said, "Go ahead and let me know what your story is."

Glancing at him briefly, Beckett said, "It's not a story," before she related to him what Julia had told her and Castle when they'd been back at home.

"Hmm… I remember those firecrackers too," the chief said.

"I wonder though if they saw anything," Castle commented.

"They could have," Beckett said, looking back at him. "Someone running off? Unless you've abandoned that Hulk theory and think it's Ashby."

"You think it's her?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head slightly before saying, "I can't really form an opinion yet, but the evidence we have initially does point to her though it's very weak. You're going to test the machete, right?"

"If I didn't I'd have to resign as chief," Brad said. "But about Julia; and Mari for that matter; get them to come down to the house and I'll take their statement."

"You will?" Castle asked hesitantly.

"As their unofficial uncle, not the chief," Brad assured him. "Luckily I went with plain clothes today."

"What about Lily and your kids?" Beckett asked him when he shortly after parked in front of the incomplete house.

"I'll have to let them be if they're still at the beach," Brad replied. "I don't want to distract them from having fun."

Though Beckett wanted to point out to him that Lily would likely come over to them to take the chance to see her husband, she let the matter drop and instead walked with her husband and chief down along the side of the house to make their way to the back. As they were walking she was texting Alexis, knowing that if her stepdaughter wasn't at her phone her father or mother in law would be. So once the message was sent she went down a little further than the lawn the house still had and then looked down the beach to watch for her daughter and Mari.

"Maybe we'll need to walk down to them," Castle said as he went over to his wife after he realized she was looking down towards their home.

Beckett glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before she shook her head; seeing he was looking at her; and she told him, "I'd rather she not come down here; it's a crime scene remember."

"Yeah," Castle said, glancing back at the house. He sighed and then looked down the beach again before he paused and said, "There they are," spotting two figures walking quickly to them.

While her husband was calling to Brad, Beckett started down the beach so she could meet the two before they got to the house.

When they were close to the house Julia broke out into a run until she'd reached her mother. "I wish you were finished already," she couldn't help saying.

"I wish too," Beckett said with a smile. She leaned over and gently kissed her temple before she said, "We're not going to be able to let you stay too long but you might help us with what you saw."

"I remember," Mari said hurriedly as her friend's mother turned to her.

"Thank you, your parents were okay letting you come?" Beckett said, holding her hand out to Mari so she could take hers.

Nodding her head, the little girl said, "Daddy asked if you would tell them before you took us to the station."

Laughing softly Beckett shook her head and said, "You don't need to do that, we can take your statement here."

"Oh… okay," Mari said. "Are you gonna talk to us?"

"I am," Brad said, coming over to the girls as Beckett had led them to the backyard of the house. "But don't worry, this might be official but it's to help."

"My mom said," Julia told him. "So what do we say?"

"You've done this before sweetie," Beckett told her.

"Yeah for a different case," Julia said quickly. "I don't know if you talk the same or if it's different."

"Tell us about what happened from the time you first saw the boys until you came back to us when your fathers called you," Brad replied, getting his notepad that Beckett had returned to him.

"Oh, you don't need to talk to us by ourselves?" Julia asked.

"No, I know you two were together," Brad replied. "And someone was watching you."

"My mother," Castle told his friend.

"Go ahead girls, I know you're witnesses," Brad said.

Julia wasn't surprised when Mari nodded to her and she began to tell them about what had happened though her parents had already heard it. When she'd finished she was going to speak when she heard someone that was by the house calling out to them.

"Alright, you two better head back to your families," Brad said, having gotten a description of the two boys; though not names as they thought they were in the seventh or eighth grade at their academy's middle school. "This was a big help since they might have seen something themselves, thank you."

After she and Mari had said you're welcome together Julia said goodbye to her parents, knowing they needed to hurry from the tone of the man's voice. So she and her friend were soon walking together down the beach before Mari stopped her and made her turn back around. She was going to ask why she'd done that when her friend was telling her.

"Maybe we can see something from here," the girl said.

Shaking her head Julia said, "No, we're too far away. And Officer… Wade might come over and tell us to go back," when she saw the man standing at the end of the house's grass. "Come on," she said as she took Mari's hand and they walked together back to their friends and family. By then Jenny had taken her sons to their hotel so they could take their naps and Keo and Maddy had been taken inside her own house by their grandparents for their naps in the living room. So there were less people, but she wasn't surprised when Lily came over to her.

"Is Brad there?" the woman asked.

"Yep, he was the one who talked to us," Julia said.

"They went to look at something right now, but you could still go and wait for him to see him," Mari commented.

Lily smiled and squeezed their shoulders quickly saying, "I'm too predictable."

"My mom would do the same thing," Mari said.

"Mine too," Julia said though she hesitated slightly.

"Sort of, I know your mom would be with your dad already," Lily said wryly. "Alright, I'm headed down there but I'll come back."

"Take me with you?" Julia asked.

"I don't think Brad would appreciate that," Lily replied. "You'll see your parents soon."

Watching the woman walk away Julia breathed out before Paul was calling out to her, making her turn and hurry over to the singer as she wondered why he had done that.

"Are you and the others aware of what your parents do?" Paul asked once the girl was with him.

"Yep, I knew for… forever," Julia replied in a matter of fact tone. She smiled a little at singer's surprise and said, "I wanted to help them."

"Oh, I think you're a bit young for that yet," Paul told her. "Now, why don't you show me some of the shells you have here on your island's shores?"

"Okay," Julia said with another smile before she called the other kids over with them. She could momentarily forget about her parents working on their case and tried to keep doing that, just hoping they wouldn't have to stay out for too late.

* * *

"This is a little weird," Castle said. When his friend looked back at him he said, "What would be in this trailer that they would do that?"

"I'm not sure," the chief had to admit before looking back at the ransacked trailer. "Though I do have to wonder if this is just a feint," Brad added.

"It could be," Beckett said. "But it'll work since you need to look into it."

"Luckily I have enough people that I won't need to just focus on this," Brad said before he stepped out and let the boys take a look inside. CSU had found it in that condition and they were slowly making their way around it searching for evidence.

"You have a number of different ways to go," Ryan said when he and Esposito had joined them again.

"Again, I have enough people," Brad said, looking up at the camera.

"They have to have sent the footage by now right?" Castle asked his friend as he was watching him.

"Likely," Brad said. He saw the CSU team was finishing looking through the trailer and said, "You work fast."

"Nothing much to see, everything looks like it was just tossed off and we couldn't find anything," one of the men said.

"Except for that," Beckett said as she took the evidence bag with a shard of ceramic inside it. "It's got a fingerprint."

"It does?" Brad asked. "Was that it of the mug?"

"It was," one of the women of the team replied. "But that shard was back in the corner and likely missed."

"So they touched it and didn't find it in their cleanup," Esposito said.

"Send it over immediately," Brad told the team. "We're set; they'll send everything they got unless you guys want to look through it?"

Shaking her head, along with the others, Beckett said, "It's a small trailer and they got everything they needed. We-"

Brad frowned at her stopping abruptly and was about to ask what was wrong when he saw Castle looking at the beach. He couldn't help smiling and said, "I'll be right back," before he went over to his wife who was standing with Officer Wade.

"Wonder if Skye and Darnley got anything," Ryan commented as they watched the couple embrace.

"I think we're heading back now," Castle said. "And hey, looks like we're pairing off."

Beckett gave her husband a look before she waved to Lily before the woman left and she was about to say they would probably leave when she grabbed her phone. "It's Skye," she told everyone including Brad who'd rejoined them. "The security camera company sent in the footage."

* * *

"It was definitely planned," Darnley commented while they were watching the TV screen.

"And it doesn't look like it's Ashby," Esposito said.

"At least directly," Beckett said, studying the figure in front of the trailer. "They picked the lock," she said with a frown.

"They might have a similar trailer," Ryan said.

"No, that one's old, the door is an old one," Darnley said quickly. When the others looked at him; except for the chief; he said, "I had a case involving one that's a similar model, so I know from that those doors aren't really that secure."

"Have you thought about looking into the construction company?" Beckett asked the chief.

"That was going to be our next step," Brad said slightly grimly as he was watching the trailer though the figure had gone inside.

Waiting with everyone else impatiently, Castle soon saw the figure leaving and disappearing into the night in the direction of the front of the house. "They could have slipped inside that way."

"They knew the camera was there," Beckett said.

"Exactly," Castle said, looking at his wife. "What if Ashby is being framed?"

"All alone in the house," Beckett then took up. "They could wait down the hall in another room-"

"There're closets at least in the other bedrooms. And why would Langston or Ashby both to go in there when they were bound for the master bedroom," Castle continued.

"They could separate them with the boys and then murder Langston far easier," Beckett said.

"That's great," Brad said when the two finished. "But one problem is it'd be next to impossible to prove."

"Look into Ashby's career and anyone who's got some kind of grudge against her," Beckett said.

"It's a start," Brad said with a nod. "And the two boys are here."

"They are?" Castle said in surprise.

"They are," the chief replied. "But I'd prefer it if you and Skye could go talk to them."

"Sure," Beckett said. "Right now?" When Brad nodded she looked over at her friend and they went together to the interview room before she paused just outside as the investigator touched her arm. "Are you alright? You can talk to them right?" she asked as she was confused at her pause.

"I've talked to children before for my cases," Skye said firmly. "No, I want to ask you now if you have any kind of idea how you want to go about this. Should we mention the firecrackers? I believe they might very well see us as punishing them so we should probably keep mum on that."

"I'd thought the same," Beckett replied. "You'll let me start?"

"Of course," Skye said firmly. "But we're not going to go bad cop good NTSB, are we?"

Shaking her head; and doing her best not to smile; Beckett then said, "No, and I'm not a cop here that's the point."

"Okay, we should get started," Skye said, nodding to the door. She followed her friend inside and sat on one of the two armchairs across from the sofa, studying the boys. They seemed to be twins and around thirteen years old and she wasn't surprised to find they appeared nervous. One of their parents was there too and she glanced at Beckett, waiting for her to begin.

"You're their father?" she asked the man sitting in between the two boys.

"Ian Haupt," the man said. "You're the writer."

"Yes," Beckett said, pausing for a moment before she answered. "And this is Ms. McDouglas and we're both consulting with the police right now. We just need to ask your sons a few questions."

"If it's about the firecrackers my wife and I have grounded them and-" Haupt started to say.

"It's not about that," Skye said quickly. "It's more what they saw while they were playing with them."

"We didn't see anything," one boy said. "Just two girls walking down the beach and everyone with them, you too," he told Beckett and Skye.

"You went over to a house," Beckett then said. "It's being rebuilt."

"Oh, the one where that guy yelled at us," the other boy said.

"Yeah, we threw some firecrackers around it and then he came to the window and yelled at us and we left," the first boy replied.

"And that's all?" Skye asked. "You weren't there because someone told you to be?"

When the boys both shook their heads, looking surprised Beckett then asked, "You didn't notice anything strange?"

"Well… there was a truck around there… it was pulling away after we left," the second boy said.

"No it was pulling up, remember we yelled at it like it was trying to hit us parking?" the first boy corrected his brother.

"Do you remember what the truck looked like?" Beckett asked them.

"It was like your truck Dad," the first boy said. "But it was silver, not grey."

"I have an F-250," Haupt replied. "I use it for work."

"What year is it?" Beckett asked.

"2017," the man answered.

"Alright, that's all we need but would it be possible to contact you in the future should we need to ask your sons more questions?" Beckett said after writing down the information on a notepad she'd taken from Brad.

"Of course, but… you won't need to will you?" Haupt said hesitatingly.

"It's more of a just in case," Skye answered before Beckett could. "We may need to have them identify the car… I'll guess you two weren't able to see the driver?"

"We were running," the second boy said.

"And the windows were tinted," the first boy added.

"The windshield?" Beckett asked.

Shaking his head, the second boy told them, "We only saw them from the side."

"Alright, thank you very much for your help," Beckett said as she stood up. "And we may or may not contact you Mr. Haupt." She watched the man go with his sons and glanced at Skye questioningly.

"I think," the investigator began. "That what they saw was an accomplice which makes this obviously more focused on Langston."

"Obviously," Beckett repeated. "But we haven't really gotten anything about him that would point to two people working together to kill him."

Nodding Skye said, "Then we should keep looking."

"And tell them what we found out, I'm sure they're waiting," Beckett told her before they left the room and went over to the chief's office. "Where is everyone?" she asked her husband who was there alone, standing at the murder board.

"Brad took the footage to Hutchinson, you know how she is with fixing up footage," Castle replied.

"Did you get anything while we were gone?" Skye asked.

"No, did you?" Castle replied with a question.

"The boys did throw firecrackers at the house, the vic yelled at them before they ran off and saw a truck pulling up in front of the house," Beckett said quickly.

"Really? Great we can look across the street," the chief said as he walked inside. When he saw the three looking at him he told them quickly, "The Morgans are directly across the street from them aren't they?"

"They are, good idea," Castle said. "So… you finished with the footage?"

"They're still working on it, but I have something else I just got handed to me," Brad said, holding up a file which he handed over to Beckett.

"The fingerprints," she said after reading with her husband looking over her shoulder and Skye standing close to her on her other side. "They're… really?" Beckett asked.

"Really, they belong to Darnell Symon," Brad replied. "Who works for the Ralston Construction Company. I made a quick call to the owner and he was fired two days ago and according to his boss; Tim Ralston; he immediately threatened to destroy him and his company."

"Looks like he might have succeeded," Castle said.

"Maybe, he's here in the Hamptons," Brad said simply to the three. "And he's at home so we're not bringing him in, we'll talk to him there. Hopefully we can get a quick confession."

Beckett shared a glance with her husband, resisting the urge to say that confession would only be if the man was actually the killer. But she knew she, her husband and Skye as well all could sympathize with the chief's hope, so they followed him out to his squad car to see their new suspect and what they could learn from him that might wrap up their case that much quicker.


	6. For The Post, Uppermost In My Mind

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _Martha My Dear_ ; by John Lennon and Paul McCartney from The Beatles' eponymous album; and _Penny Lane_ ; by John Lennon and Paul McCartney from The Beatles' album _Magical Mystery Tour_.

A/N #2: It was great to read all the feedback I got for the last chapter, so I'll go straight into my thank yous for that! MichelleBell16 (I was pleased seeing that you're still loving the series. And of course, I'm happy that you're glad Josie had joined the family. I wasn't surprised that you mentioned their group has grown bigger; glad you thought it was interesting; or that you mentioned that the McCartneys have been added. And great you like that Lanie and the boys are kind of helping with the case. Not surprised you miss Beckett and Castle working with them. I wasn't surprised at all that the title makes you want Julia to discover her past before Beckett, or that you're looking forward to the reveal whenever it might happen. So happy you can't wait to read more! And you're welcome for my work with these stories, though I love getting them written so it's not quite work for me, lol),

Mb (It was nice to read that you thought the last chapter was a fantastic upset. And not surprised you love how they all want to help with the case. And I had to laugh at you mentioning there being 6 consultants, though you're right that it's free expert help for the police, lol. I also wasn't surprised at you mentioning that Julia wanted to help and be with her parents on the case, I expected readers to notice that, lol. I'm not surprised you caught that Julia got a type of feeling about the house when they were there. Or that you were wondering about Julia possibly remembering the years of her life before she met Beckett. Great you think it'll be interesting to see all the investigators working together, lol, I'm hoping it will be! And I'm again not surprised that you're suspecting some crazy twists and turns from this brutal killing. And you're very welcome for the first half of the chapter! Happy to read you thought the second half was great as well. I wasn't surprised you mentioned the possible backstory for why the victim was killed. And I definitely wasn't surprised that you think the way they were killed might make it more personal with the anger. I have to agree on your comment about them wanting to work on the case but solve it quickly since they're on vacation, definitely a different mind set when it's like that, lol. Nice to see that you were glad that Julia was able to join the investigation in a way with her and Mari giving the description of the boys. And it was interesting to see that I ended up surprising you with the fact that the boys weren't paid to throw the fireworks as a distraction. Really pleased that you loved their wedding in Save The Last Dance For Me, with what we had on the show I did hope I could write it in my series enjoyably enough for the readers. And I was very happy that you loved the birth of Eliza too, which is good to read since of course I haven't been through that myself. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!),

MsNYC (I'm not surprised to see you saying the team is back with a twist, with Skye and Darnley being that. And yeah, I knew squatting was a big thing so I used it for this story. And nice to see that you were glad that Julia knew how to remember details. And you made a good point that she is a cop child so she would know what to look for. Your theory was very interesting to see but I'm not surprised you think she wants to be a writer and consultant like her parents. I wasn't surprised you mentioned they were moving along pretty fast. Or that you're hoping they'll finish in a day or two so that can continue their celebrations. And I'm really happy that you still enjoy Skye and Beckett working together since I like writing that. Great to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Happy to see that you think it's great that the gang is back together again. And I'm glad you thought the chapter had good writing too of course!) and

vetgirlmx (I had to laugh at your reaction as to who they had at the end of the chapter, you'll find out about him soon of course. And great you're really excited about them working together, though I expected that. You're right about them not having worked all together at the same time. I wasn't surprised that you mentioned though there were so many of them it does help them solve the case so they can go back to their holiday. Though you made me laugh at what about you said it being so much fun, lol, but you do make a point about that! I'm not really all that surprised that you were expecting Julia wanting to be involved in the investigation. But great I could surprise you with her hiding in the car to do that, lol. You are right, it was better that Beckett found her before they left since they would have had to send her back by police car most likely. I'm really happy that you're enjoying the dynamics of them all involved with the investigation so far. But interesting you're curious about what will happen when they go home and being asked about the investigation by other than the usual people, though I'm not surprised you think that'll be interesting to see. I'm not surprised you laughed at everyone's reaction to the body dropping and them all assuming that everyone related to law enforcement would be involved no question. But I did have to have them follow procedure, you were right, lol, but you're right too about it being a given. And you make a good point that it's kind of like they have their own murder-mystery party. I'm really pleased you're having too much fun with this so far. And of course, happy that you can't wait to see what happens next which you don't need to wait for anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading each one and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a slightly modified lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

For The Post, Uppermost In My Mind

"Anything wrong Julia?" Beatrice asked the girl as she was coming down the steps from the house.

"Nothing I was just waiting for the mail," Julia replied. "Oh, the post."

"I know what you Yanks call it," Beatrice said with a smile. "But come and help us we're getting everything ready to come back inside."

"Aren't you leaving the blankets and everything?" Julia asked.

"Yeah but we have to bring some stuff," Beatrice replied before they started to walk down the yard to get to the others.

Though Julia didn't want to stop, her sisters were already inside the house and she was starting to feel a little tired running around the beach. Luckily Mari was going to spend the night, so she knew she had playing with her friend to look forward to. She was a little deep in her thoughts when suddenly someone touched her shoulder and she jumped, looking to see that it was Paul.

"Sorry about that Julia," the singer said with a smile. "It's about time I told you your parents want me to help you a bit."

"Oh?" Julia said in slight confusion.

"And I suppose Mari and Eliza as well," Paul said after thinking that over. "Anyway, they want me to help you with some piano and guitar lessons."

"Thank you," Julia said breathed in amazement as she could tell that he was serious. "But… wait you're on vacation, that's not fair."

"Don't worry," Nancy said, going over to walk with them as they were heading back up to the house. "Paul really wants to see you play again."

"You seem eager to do so," the singer said, smiling for a moment at his wife.

"I am, especially 'cause someone who is so good wants to help me," Julia breathed out.

"I almost thought you were going to say famous," Paul told her.

Julia waited until they were up the steps and in the house before she said with a beaming smile, "It's better you're good, you have to be before you get famous."

"That's a good point," Paul said with his own smile. "So go on and tell your sister and friend about it, see if they'd like to join in."

Nodding Julia rushed to the two in the family room and told them so excitedly about what Paul had told her she was afraid they weren't going to understand her. But her sister was soon speaking letting her know that she had at least.

"But I don't play guitar," Eliza said.

"The piano kiddo," Martha said. "And Paul is really going to do that?"

"Yeah, he said, I said it wasn't fair but he said he still wants to," Julia said quickly. She smiled and said, "I'm gonna ask him to teach me a song on the piano."

"What about the guitar?" Mari asked her.

Julia said, "Another song but maybe just chords. I don't know yet. "Come on, we're going to the living room." She led the way over to the room before she saw that Paul was at the piano and she said, "We're ready." She paused and turned to Mari saying, "You didn't say anything."

"I… I guess piano," the girl replied. She then said shyly to the singer, "I like that better."

"My dad enjoyed it too," Paul said with a smile. "And you Eliza, your parents told me you're getting better at the piano now."

"My fingers are better," Eliza said, showing him her hands.

"Perfect," Paul said, taking her hands with a smile and squeezing them gently. "Alright you're first, let's play some chords and I'll play you all a little bit of a song."

Eliza got onto the bench, playing with Paul's help and trying to recall the way the notes went before she was playing part of the song _Golden Slumbers_. "Thanks," she said happily as she loved that song.

"You're quite welcome, now give us a song and I'll play what you'd like," Paul told her. He watched, glancing at his wife and the little girls' grandparents, as Eliza was very obviously thinking. He thought she might have some trouble and was about to tell her he might suggest something when she was finally blurting out a suggestion.

"The one about my gram," Eliza said in a rush.

"Your… oh," Paul said before he realized what she meant. "You know I didn't exactly write it for her."

"Your doggie has the same name, Jules told me," Eliza replied. "You like doggies."

Trying not to laugh at her serious tone at the end Paul said, "I do, your dogs are quite interesting. But I can in fact play that song for you." He turned back to the keyboard and paused before he said to Martha, "You've heard the song?"

"Of course," Castle's mother replied with a smile. "Back when I first heard it I appreciated the choice of name, but I'd always wondered why you'd chosen it. Eventually I learned though, so wonderful selection."

Laughing slightly Paul said, "I'm glad you appreciate it." He turned back to Eliza and said, "I'll play now. Watch and see if you can remember any of the notes that I showed you too." Once the little girl had nodded seriously he began to play the introduction on the piano, seeing Eliza out of the corner of his eye watching him before he needed to sing.

 _Martha my dear though I spend my days in conversation  
Please  
Remember me Martha my love  
Don't forget me Martha my dear_

 _Hold your head up you silly girl look what you've done  
When you find yourself in the thick of it  
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you  
Silly girl_

 _Take a good look around you  
Take a good look you're bound to see  
That you and me were meant to be for each other  
Silly girl_

 _Hold your hand out you silly girl see what you've done  
When you find yourself in the thick of it  
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you  
Silly girl_

Julia, when Paul began to play the instrumental break, went over to the piano and stood at the side of it, to his left. She was amazed at how easily his hands moved over the keys before he began to sing again. She tore her eyes away from the piano, wanting to watch him while he was finishing the song.

 _Martha my dear you have always been my inspiration  
Please  
Be good to me Martha my love  
Don't forget me Martha my dear_

After he'd finished with a fewer higher notes Paul looked around and saw that all the adults staying in the home were there, applauding him. "Thank you," he replied, nodding his head. "Not really having a concert but I'm planning on playing two more songs. Once I teach Julia and Mari a bit."

"It can just be one song," Mari said quickly.

"It can?" Julia asked her friend in surprise.

"Yeah, we can pick one together," Mari replied. "What about _Penny Lane_?"

"I can perform that," Paul told them with a smile as he was watching them talking to one another. "But first your lessons. You're up next Mari and since I haven't seen you play what do you know?"

"Not a lot," the girl said shyly as she took Eliza's place at the piano. She then began to play _Mary Had a Little Lamb_ and paused before she looked at Paul.

"That's not my version," Paul said, hazarding a guess as to what she was thinking of. "But it's a good place to start."

"Did you really have your kids sing then?" Mari asked quickly.

"Oh sure, had a lot of fun with it," Paul replied. "Now let's see if you can't play when I tell you the notes."

"The ones I know, right?" Mari asked.

"Don't worry, wouldn't be fair of me to spring notes on you all of a sudden," Paul replied. He worked with the girl doing that for a bit until he taught her a song she would be able to play with the notes she knew well. He had her change places with Julia and started to teach her a few new notes while she watched him attentively.

When she had managed to get the notes set and played through them with the others she knew while Paul called them out; as he'd done with her friend; Julia stopped and said, "Is that it?"

"It is," Paul replied. "We might want to leave the guitar lesson for another time alright?"

"Sure," Julia said.

When Eliza and Mari joined them, standing to Paul's left, Jim said with a slight laugh, "Your audience is waiting."

"Yes, well it's all of you of course," Paul said, laughing as well. "Alright, you two want to visit Penny Lane then we shall." He began to play again, amused the three girls were all watching his fingers as well as him while he was singing the familiar lyrics.

 _Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs  
Of every head he's had the pleasure to know  
And all the people that come and go  
Stop and say "Hello"_

 _On the corner is a banker with a motorcar  
And little children laugh at him behind his back  
And the banker never wears a mac  
In the pouring rain, very strange_

"Sing the chorus with me," Paul said rapidly to the three, letting them sing after the first few lines, watching them continue together though they looked surprised until he took up the verse that went with the chorus lines.

 _Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eye  
There beneath the blue suburban skies  
I sit, and meanwhile back  
In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass  
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen  
He likes to keep his fire engine clean  
It's a clean machine_

Smiling widely as Paul was playing the instrumental, whistling as well, Julia glanced across the keyboard down at her friend and little sister before she turned to look at the singer since she knew the chorus was starting again though it was just the opening line. She, Mari and Eliza began to sing then, hoping that someone behind them was recording so all their parents could see them doing that.

 _Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes  
A four of fish and finger pies  
In summer, meanwhile back  
Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout  
A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray  
And though she feels as if she's in a play  
She is anyway_

 _In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer  
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim  
And then the fireman rushing in  
From the pouring rain, very strange_

Though he didn't ask them to do so, Paul wasn't all that surprised the three girls sang with him. But he was when even Eliza knew all the words and he thought in his mind to ask them how the youngest knew before he was focusing on the last of the chords.

 _Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes  
There beneath the blue suburban skies  
I sit, and meanwhile back  
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes  
There beneath the blue suburban skies  
Penny Lane_

"That was very nicely sung," Paul said to the three girls with a smile. "How do you know that one?" he directed to Eliza.

"I think it's from the video for it," Julia answered when her sister looked over at her. "We like to watch it a lot 'cause there are horses in there."

"Did Ringo get hurt?" Eliza asked.

"When he got off his horse in the video towards the end," Julia said when Paul looked a little confused.

"Oh, no he was alright but he got a bit lost in the group of horses," the singer replied. "Luckily he made it out of there alright." He stood up and asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Wait," Julia said in excitement as she remembered something. "We have those cookies to make."

"That's true," Martha said slowly, looking over at Jim.

"They have dessert for the party on Saturday," Beckett's father reminded her.

"Alright, so they have some cookies they can make," Martha told the others. "And it won't need all of us, but I can get some drinks for everybody while the three of them are busy."

The group separated and the three girls plus the three McDouglas girls headed over to the kitchen with Alexis, Brennan and to their surprise Paul. The three worked with Alexis to prepare the cookie dough before Julia spoke, asking the singer a question.

"Are you going to play something with Skye again?" the girl said.

"Would you want me to?" Paul asked with a smile.

"If it's okay," Julia replied with a wide smile in return.

"It is, but you might want to ask her about that when she's back," Paul said. He seemed to think of something and called, "Mary."

"Yeah?" the woman asked as she walked over to them from the family room. "They're behaving, right?"

"We are Mommy," Kathleen said in mock-exasperation.

"Does Skye usually do this?" Paul asked the woman.

"This in particular no," Mary replied. "But she's very good at observing people so she'll be a help. And I could hear you; it's very likely she'll want to perform with you again." She smiled when her daughters and the other three girls looked at each other before she said, "But she'll want to make sure you're alright with that."

"I will be," Paul said with a nod before he saw Julia getting something. He was about to ask her what they were going to do exactly with the cookies when she was abruptly explaining the reason for the tub of cookie cutters she had on the counter.

"Dad said we could make any shapes we want, they don't need to be for the holiday," Julia was saying.

"What do you have for the holiday?" Marie asked.

"This one," Eliza said, showing them a cookie cutter in the shape of the flag.

"Our dad used that to make Irish flag cookies," Julia commented.

"For St. Patrick's Day?" Paul asked.

"Yeah," Julia said with a smile. "Also 'cause it was my birthday."

"Are you decorating them?" Jim asked.

"We have some frosting-" Julia started to say.

"And sprinkles!" Eliza finished for her sister.

"First, we need to get the cookies made you know," Alexis told them with a smile.

"I want this one," Eliza said, snatching up a cookie cutter shaped like a horse's head.

"Didn't think you'd have that," Paul said, walking over to them. He took the cookie cutter to study it and said with a smile, "I imagine your mum allowed you to get this one."

"We got it for Christmas," Julia said with a smile. "Both our parents bought it for us."

"Fab," Paul said, smiling as the two girls giggled. He watched with the other adults as the six girls started to cut into the cookie dough and placed their shapes on the pan for the oven. He was about to ask the girls if that would take them into whenever the four that had gone with the police would get back when he heard some crying behind him.

"Easy Josie," Nancy said, carrying the baby in her arms. "She woke up a bit hungry," she told her husband.

"It does sound like that," Paul said with a nod and a smile. He watched as Jim; who'd been behind his wife; rushed to grab a bottle for the baby before she sat at the kitchen table. He went over to her, sitting with her to watch as she fed Josie while the girls were finishing with the cookie dough.

"Do we need to stay?" Julia asked her big sister.

"No, go ahead and play but if you're going to head outside please don't go to the water," Alexis answered.

"Okay," Julia said as she didn't care about that rule. She went over to the singer and his wife and took a moment to peer down at her sister.

"What's on your mind Julia?" Paul asked her.

"Do you think we can show you our bows and arrows?" the girl said.

"Well… do your friends and sister want to do the same?" Paul replied with a question.

Julia glanced back at the others, hoping they would answer her question in the affirmative as she hurried back to them. "Do you want-" she started to say.

"I want to go," Eliza interrupted.

Julia smiled and said, "What about you?"

"Sure," Mari said with a smile at her friend. She then looked at the McDouglas girls and said, "What's wrong with Fleur."

"She's never played with bows and arrows before," Kathleen said. "Mommy? How do you say that in French?"

" _Arcs et fléches_ ," Mary replied. "Why, are you going to play with them?" When her two oldest daughters nodded she then spoke to Fleur in French while the girl replied to her.

"I want to play too," the little girl finally said to the others.

"Let's go," Julia said, knowing already the twins were alright to go. She took her little sister's hand, walking with her and the others as Mary and Paul followed. She was about to ask if anyone else would go with them when Nancy soon appeared. "Where's our sister?" she asked the woman.

"I handed her to your grandmother, and I think Maddy is going to join us soon," she added.

"Cool, do you know how to do this?" Julia asked, walking with her as they were all making their way to the backyard.

"Not really, but I heard you've been training with your parents," Nancy replied.

Laughing softly and quickly Julia said, "Just learning. You should try too it's fun."

"I'll give it a shot," Nancy replied with a smile. She followed Julia to the grass and waited for the target to be set up. She was a little unsure about the size of it but didn't say anything until Eliza was rejoining them with Alexis and Mary.

"Eliza let us know that she'll go first with her set," the latter said once they were all together again. "And after that we call all go, if you want to of course."

Julia watched her sister start shooting arrows while their big sister was helping her out before she ran down to the target. "How did you do?" she asked with a smile once she was back.

"I did really good," Eliza said, studying the numbers but not sure how exactly to add that up.

"It doesn't matter," Alexis said. "We're just going to do this for fun okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said before she helped her sister in getting the arrows off. She held them while waiting for Alexis to get the other target set up. Eventually her attention started to wander, and she began to play with the arrow in her hand, pretending it was an airplane.

"Considering their parents," Paul was saying to Jim as they were watching the little girl. "How much imagination does she have?"

"I think she tends towards Richard's imagination," Beckett's father replied with a smile. "Julia is more like Katie is, imaginative though not so outwardly exuberant."

With a smile Paul said, "She is like her mother… that's quite amazing."

Nodding Jim said, "She adores Katie and vice versa. So do you know much about bows and arrows?"

"Not as much as you lot do," Paul said as Jim had changed the subject since the girl they'd been discussing was walking over to them. "Loved to play Robin Hood but if we shot the arrows it was only to pretend we were at the archery contest." He smiled at the girl and said, "Couldn't risk hitting anyone of course, our parents wouldn't be best pleased."

"I like to pretend I'm at the Olympics," Julia said, blushing a little.

"I don't blame you, would be fun to go there," the singer said.

"Which you did," Nancy said to her husband as she walked over to him.

"Oh of course, I couldn't help watching the equestrian events," Paul said. "Plus, I checked a bit of footie too."

"That's football," Julia said to her grandfather.

"I thought so," Jim said with a slight laugh. "And you need to take your turn, everyone is waiting for you."

Nodding Julia hurried over to her big sister, taking her bow and then standing in front of the target. She was about to grab an arrow in the box on the ground when she paused and turned to look at all her friends that were standing a little bit behind her in a half circle.

"Did you change your mind about this?" Alexis asked gently, watching her sister.

Shaking her head Julia said, "Nope but this isn't fair." And with that she walked over to the girls that were watching her, stopping in front of one of them and handing them her bow as they watched her in awe before she was speaking.

"You are going to let me?" Fleur asked.

"Wait, wait," Mary said quickly. "If you're going to shoot a bow honey, let's have you use Eliza's."

"It's okay," Julia said hurriedly as the little girl looked at her in concern. "It's better if you use the toy one." She watched as her sister changed the targets again and set her bow down on the ground before she was watching Fleur trying to shoot off the toy arrows.

"That's how I was," Eliza said when the little girl had finished, and three of the five arrows were past the target. "It was a long time until I got the target."

"Now you guys can go," Mary said to the others as she was taking the two arrows off and handing the target to Alexis.

"Sure you don't want to go first?" Julia asked Mari.

"No," the girl said with a smile as Maddy had rushed to them and was trying to hold onto Julia's bow.

"Maddy," Nkosi said, going over to the toddler and swooping her up into his arms. "You are still too little to do that."

"Tata!" the toddler said in protest.

"I don't think you're going to be able to do that yet," Eliza said, hurrying over to her. She let Maddy take her hand before she asked her father, "Is there something we can play?"

"Do you have a ball that bounces?" Nkosi asked.

"Yeah," Eliza said.

"Julia," Jim said, touching her shoulder. "You should start going."

"Yeah," the girl said, shaking herself as she realized the others had to wait for her to go to take their turn. She stood in front of the target and began shooting off the arrows until she was finished with the ten. Studying the target, she smiled and said, "I got better," thinking it was her grandfather standing next to her as she looked up at him.

"You're learning," Paul said, smiling at the girl as she looked up at him, startled. "But still nicely done."

"Are you going to try?" Julia asked, holding the bow out to him.

"Not just yet," Paul replied with a smile. "You might want to let your friends do that."

Julia smiled and handed over the bow to Mari, watching her take the arrows to go next. After her friends had gone she stood with her best friend to look on while the adults went. She smiled at their differing skill but when everyone had gone she went over to the water with her friends.

"Hold on!" Alexis called to them before they could get too far down the sand. She smiled when her sisters looked back at her with wide eyes and said, "The cookies."

"Are they ready to decorate?" Julia asked after she and the others had gone back to the adults.

"They should be, either way I want to wait until your parents get back to let you go to the water again," Alexis replied.

Since she was looking at him Jim nodded and said, "She's right, but in your guys' case I think you should wait for Skye too."

"We just need to wait for Rick and Kate to get back," Mary said with a smile as her daughters; who Jim had been talking to; looked immediately at her. "Back inside so we have dessert tonight."

"Hello everyone," Martha said when they came inside and she quickly got out of their way since she'd been looking out the door's window. "I imagine you're almost ready to decorate."

"The cookies are ready?" Alexis asked her grandmother.

"Louis had them cooling for at least five minutes," Martha answered. "I think you can take them to decorate."

"Let me take her," Alexis told her before she reached out to take Josie from her. She heard the baby coo for a moment and then asked, "Keo?"

"He's here," Louis said as the group was walking down the hall to them. "He wanted to stay with me."

"Let me take you young lad," Brennan said, reaching for the baby. He had Keo on his hip before he said, "Are the youngest going to decorate?"

"I think it is best they do not," Nkosi said. "That and I believe six are good to take care of those cookies."

"What about Maddy?" Eliza asked him.

"Another time," Nkosi said with a smile. "If you will excuse me, I will be with my children in the family room."

Breathing out Eliza was torn, looking over at the table and the cookies along with the frosting and sprinkles that were there as well. But she wanted to play with Maddy since the toddler was awake before she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what to do," she told Julia.

"You'll have more chances to play with her," the girl told her sister. "For now we get to decorate something sweet."

"Yeah," Eliza said, that deciding it for her before she hurried after her sister to the table which their big sister was standing next to; waiting for them and the other girls to sit.

"I think we need to lay a few ground rules before we start," Alexis said, looking at them all.

"Like what?" Brennan asked, empty handed as Nkosi had taken Keo from him.

"First take turns frosting and second take it easy with that frosting," Alexis said, sitting in between her sisters. "Our parents are going to be eating these too so watch how much."

"Are there anymore rules?" Marie asked.

"Yes, share the sprinkles too," Alexis added.

"Saying please and thank you seems like a must," Louis commented.

"Exactly," Mary said. "So you guys should get started so they'll be ready."

Working on the cookies nearly made Julia forget about something she'd been thinking of the whole day. But finally, Martha came down the hall with the dogs following her, and barking, which made her look up. "Is that the mail?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes, if you want to see then you'll have to wash your hands," Castle's mother told her.

"I finished already!" Julia cried before she raced over to the sink. She tried her best to both hurry and wash as well as she could before she was going to see what her grandmother had gotten. Gasping eagerly, she took the large manila envelope to Paul and said, "My mom's pictures came!"

"Wonderful," the singer said as he saw the name of the company and Beckett's name. "But it's best if you wait until she's back to open this."

"She's right," Jim said, going over to her. "Go ahead and put it in the office, that way it'll be safe until she's here."

With a nod, Julia went to her parents' office and set the envelope down in front of her mother's computer. She didn't know why but she suddenly thought of something and she abruptly turned to run back outside. "Where's Gram?" she asked her little sister as she didn't see her in the kitchen where most everyone was.

"In the family room," Eliza answered. She ran after her when Julia turned to go down the hall, wondering why she was in such a hurry.

"Gram!" Julia called.

"Yes kiddo?" Martha asked, looking at something in her hands.

"What did you get?" Julia asked while she and her sister were going over to her.

"These," Martha replied.

"What are these?" Nancy said, sitting on the couch near her.

"Patterns for a jacket for Kate," Martha said. "And then little bolero jackets for these two."

"How come?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Do you remember the lace bolt that your father bought for your mother?" Martha asked the two girls.

"Yeah… are you gonna make that stuff from that lace?" Eliza said before she gasped and asked her question in awe.

"I am, your mother finally figured out what to do with that," Martha said with a slight smile as she put away the patterns.

"What bolt of lace?" Paul asked once they were all together in the room.

"He bought that for her in Kenmare when we were in Ireland last year," Jim said, rubbing Josie's back as he was holding her.

"She wasn't really happy but then she really liked it," Julia commented.

"Oh, that reminds me I'll need to tell Kate and make absolutely sure she is herself about this," Martha said. "It's so beautiful, I'm terrified of making a mistake." She got her phone and began to text her daughter in law, wondering if she would keep to her plan with the patterns there.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Castle asked, watching his wife jump suddenly.

"It's my phone, someone texted me," Beckett said, glad they weren't on their way to Symon's. They'd been just about to leave the parking lot when Hall had called on the radio in Brad's car, letting them know that the man was on his way to the station. So the chief had let out Castle and Beckett so he could escort the man to make sure that he did get there.

"Something wrong at home?" Castle asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

"No," Beckett said slowly as she was reading at the same time. "The patterns for my jacket and the girls' too came in the mail." She was about to respond when suddenly a second message came in and she said with a smile, "Plus my pictures."

"Now I want to get back to your house," Darnley said as he was in the chief's office while the other three investigating with them were in the break room.

"We'll get there soon enough," Beckett replied. "And that was Julia at the end."

"Of course," Castle replied. He then said, "What did my mom say though?"

Not surprised her husband guessed his mother hadn't just told her about the patterns Beckett told him, "She's still worried."

"What exactly is she going to make?" Darnley said.

"I've started to look for my wedding dress for our tenth anniversary," Beckett replied, motioning to her husband.

"I suggested she should start," Castle said. "Meaning I thought she was going to use the bolt of lace I bought her in Ireland."

"What, to make the whole dress?" Darnley asked in surprise. When his friend's husband nodded he said, "Wow… you're very warped."

"Oh, I knew she wasn't going to do that," Castle said in mock annoyance. He then smiled and said, "That was more her."

"I found the dress around here so decided I should just get it. Plus, it does help Martha with the lace jacket that's going to go over it," Beckett then told him after she'd sent the message to her mother in law.

"What about the girls?" Darnley asked.

"It's for now," Beckett said. "Whenever they're wearing dark dresses and it's spring or summer."

"Then I want to know why you have a whole bolt of cloth from Ireland," Darnley replied.

"It's more your story," Beckett said when her husband just looked at her. When he just stared back she sighed and turned to Darnley beginning the story by saying, "We were in Kenmare which is well known for their handmade lace and we were in a store alone together where Rick went a little crazy."

* * *

 _"Come here love," Castle told his wife._

 _"What?" Beckett asked in slight surprise as he took her arm and gently led her over to the counter of the shop they had gone to at his insistence._

 _"Pick something," Castle told her._

 _"For the house?" Beckett said, confused as it wasn't something she would want._

 _"No, for you," Castle said, looking at the bolts of lace that were for sale as well._

 _"For… what for me though?" Beckett asked._

 _"Clothing, anything you'd like," Castle told her firmly. "For you and the girls I should say." He saw the hesitation on her face and said, "You should have some Irish lace."_

 _Breathing out heavily Beckett said, "You're not going to leave me alone about this, are you?"_

 _"Not really," Castle said._

 _"Alright but let me pick it out," Beckett said after a few moments pause._

 _"Sure," Castle said, nodding. He then followed his wife while she was looking over the different patterns of lace, trying his best to keep from saying anything to her about what she was looking at._

 _"Alright," Beckett said once she was satisfied she'd seen everything. "I'd like that bolt on the second shelf, three from the right."_

 _"This?" the woman said, taking it down._

 _Beckett nodded, watching the employee lay the end out so they could look at it, and she then turned to her husband with a smile._

 _"I'm not going to say anything," Castle said. "At least not about this, it's your choice."_

 _"Thanks for that at least," Beckett said as she was still smiling. "And I'm sure about this one," she added as they looked down at the pattern which were roses and swirls made from dots of lace. She had chosen it because the flowers themselves were small and the dots took more of the focus. "I really don't know what I'll do with this," she said before her husband went to pay for the bolt._

 _When he was walking back to her Castle said, "You'll figure something out I'm sure."_

 _"I hope so," Beckett said, looking at the lace that was in his arms. "Wait," she said as soon as they'd stepped outside. "Your mom does know how to work with this right?"_

 _"She does, I should have told you, but I was trying to convince you," Castle said with a slight smile._

 _Beckett rolled her eyes and said, "Let's go have lunch."_

 _"Sure," Castle replied, though he wanted to ask her if they shouldn't put the lace back in their car._

 _Leading her husband to the restaurant they'd decided on; after getting some advice from the concierge at their hotel; Beckett told him, "I know it's awkward but if you were so eager to buy it for me then you should be that eager to keep it safe."_

 _"True," Castle said slowly as they were being led over to their table. After he was sitting on the other side of her at their booth he looked and her and then the bolt next to him before he said, "I hate this a little now."_

 _Beckett laughed softly and said, "Well you were so insistent. But thank you love." She paused and asked in Irish, "_ You're not intending that I make something really racy, are you _?"_

 _"_ No _," Castle said, speaking slowly again as he thought that over. "_ You know what, no I'm not but it's up to you like I said _."_

 _"_ Thank you for leaving that up to me _," Beckett said._

 _Castle was a little startled at her serious tone and he asked, "_ Did you think I'd force you to _?"_

 _"_ No but to be honest I'm not going to _," Beckett said. At her husband's questioning glance, which she wasn't surprised he was giving her, she told him, "_ Your mother works with lace _."_

 _Castle breathed out as he realized she was right and said, "_ I think it's a fantastic idea not to do that with it _."_

 _Beckett laughed softly and told him, "_ I thought so too _." They turned their attention to the waitress that had come to them to take their orders and once they were finished she said, "What should we do once we get back?"_

 _"Find the girls?" Castle suggested._

 _"Good idea," Beckett said. "But first I want to take my camera around."_

 _"Sure," Castle said quickly as he knew she had it with them in her bag. "But at the very least let us go to our room, I don't want to carry this around the whole time."_

 _Beckett smiled and said, "I guess we can make a quick detour." At his look, she reached across the table and squeezed his hand quickly before she had to let go at their waitress coming over with their drinks. She smiled at the way her husband frowned down at his Guinness, but she gently nudged his leg with her foot. With a promise in her gaze; that she hoped she was conveying; she waited with him slightly impatiently so they could finish their meal and head back to the hotel where they would be more completely alone._


	7. For The Post (Part 2)

"You're not going to tell me about your time at the hotel after that?" Darnley asked teasingly.

"No," Beckett replied, rolling her eyes. "But I'm assuming you want to see the lace."

"You're not making lingerie with that right?" Darnley asked.

"I think she told you no," Skye said as she'd walked back into the office in time to hear that. "Right?"

"I was serious," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at the sudden uncertainty from the two. "Especially because Martha would be making it and the lace I bought isn't my type for that which does not leave this room."

"I never saw her lingerie!" Darnley protested immediately as Skye and Castle looked at him. "If you had any back then," he then directed to his friend.

"Who was I going to wear that for?" Beckett said simply.

"Okay, I wouldn't have asked you though to see it," Darnley replied.

"It seems like Brad's taking a while," Castle said suddenly.

Beckett looked at her husband and smiled slightly in thanks before she said to the boys who were just walking in, "Brad wasn't out there?"

"Haven't seen him," Esposito answered first. "Anything new?"

"We've looked over everything we have," Darnley replied. "But I don't see one new piece of evidence."

"Then everything depends on Symon," Ryan said.

"He's back," Hutchinson said as she rushed up to the doorway of the office.

Going outside into the bull pen Castle watched with the others as the chief was leading the man over to the interrogation room before he made his way to where they were waiting. "Who's going in with you?" he asked when his friend was close enough.

"You and Beckett," Brad told them. "Sorry guys but…"

"We can at least watch from observation, right?" Skye asked.

"I'm hoping you will; especially you," Brad told the investigator. "Come on," he said to Castle and Beckett. He led the way over to the room, pausing with his hand on the doorknob to make sure that everyone else was going into observation. Once he was he ducked inside with the two saying, "Mr. Symon."

"Finally, what I had to tell you could have just been said outside," the man replied. "I heard what had happened-"

Beckett, sitting at the table while her husband remained standing with Brad, watched the man's reaction to the picture of Langston against the door. Something about it bothered her, making her wonder what exactly he'd been about to tell them before Symon cleared his throat and began to speak again.

"I know what happened at the house, Joseph Chappell one of my former co-workers called me and told about it but I had no idea it was… this," the man continued, clearing his throat slightly at the end. "I didn't do this."

"Then why don't you tell us where you were between twelve and one today," Brad said.

"At home, I have no job so I've been trying to get a job, sending in my resume to an agency online," Symon said quickly. "You can… my computer will say that right?"

"What's the agency?" Brad asked as he was getting his notepad from his pocket. When the man told him the name he scribbled it down, glancing at Beckett as he wanted her to take over, luckily she seemed to sense that though she wasn't looking at him and asked Symon a question.

"Would you ever have a reason to be inside the trailer at the construction site?" Beckett said.

"No, that's the boss's trailer," Symon replied. "We would usually just stand in the doorway if we needed to talk to him."

"No one went in at all," Castle said slightly disbelievingly.

"He was very strict that that was his space," Symon said firmly. "So if I was in there it was just… barely a step inside of it."

"Then why is it that we found your fingerprint further than that?" Beckett asked.

"What?" Symon asked in disbelief. He looked down at the picture that she slid across the table to him and he breathed out a laugh before he said, "That was my mug."

"Why would your mug be inside?" Brad asked.

"When he fired me I was pissed… also further inside," Symon said with a sigh. "I threw the mug and then just… left."

"And when exactly was that?" Brad said with a slight frown as Castle looked at him.

"It was two days ago," Symon said.

"I thought the company had stopped working on the house," Beckett commented.

"Yeah, the a- the jerk decided to take me there to fire me," Symon said angrily. "But you know why he did that don't you?" When he got blank stares he said, "He was sleeping with my wife, he's trying to make her stay here with him if I have no income. If you think I did it I bet you the bastard did and is trying to blame it on me."

* * *

"You are so lucky," Castle said as soon as his friend had hung up the phone.

"He's right, he might have scarpered for all you know," Skye said.

"You're going to razz me for not getting him right away?" Brad asked wryly. When the investigator just spread her hands apart he then said, "What do you think?"

"You have too many loose ends," Ryan said. When he saw everyone but his partner looking at him he said, "Was that not intended for everyone?"

"It doesn't matter, but I'm wondering about the psychological aspect of this," Brad said.

"He's telling the truth," Skye said when everyone looked at her. "Or he believes he is. Though that latter part is more of an in-case comment, he didn't appear to be all that unstable. And he's quite upset about his wife."

"I'll say," Esposito replied. "Though why didn't he file a missing persons report? She's been gone for two days."

"You don't take her note that she went out for the holiday with friends at face value?" Darnley asked.

"I don't think you can," the detective replied. "Not if he said, 'she's done this before'."

"One problem is we know her lover at this moment isn't Ralston," Beckett said.

"Who knows, could be some random person," Castle commented.

"Sir," Wade said as he came up to the doorway of the office. When the chief nodded to him he told everyone, "Checked the site and the resume was sent over via e-mail at twelve fifty-six. Tech just confirmed it was from his computer and he didn't tell you about the live chat he had with someone working there, it took from eleven forty-five until just before the resume was sent."

"Also from his home computer?" Brad asked. When his officer nodded he said, "Let Symon go." When they were alone he looked over at the others and said, "We're all in agreement that we're shifting over to Ralston now, right?"

"Who's going to talk to him?" Skye asked.

"This time I'd like you two to," Brad replied, looking between her and Beckett.

"Are you sure you need us?" Ryan asked.

"Don't worry, I'll ask you at some point because we always seem to have a hundred different people of interest to question," Brad said wryly. He went over to the doorway and looking out said, "He's here. Now you don't all have to go over to observation, but it'll help." He motioned to Beckett and Skye and then said to the four men, "We'll meet up here after," before he walked with the two women over to the interrogation room where Ralston was being taken.

"Are we going because you want some kind of feminine examination?" Skye asked before they were too close to the room's door.

"No, I just want you two to talk to him because I get the feeling this guy will respond to women who're confident," Brad said. When he got two looks from them he shrugged and said, "Might want a woman who's submissive."

"Should have just had her go in," Castle commented as he hadn't followed the boys and Darnley to observation.

"Would you go," Beckett said, rolling her eyes before she shook her head at the way her husband smiled at her, knowing he knew she wasn't mad at him. "Alright, then are we taking over?"

"Let's see how this goes," Brad said. When the two women nodded he entered the room with them following before he said, "Mr. Ralston."

"Yeah, any reason why you pulled me away from my job? We have a deadline," the man said, looking at Beckett and Skye immediately.

"What?" Castle said in observation as he saw that the boys were looking at him.

"No protest?" Esposito asked.

"She's still very good at what she does," Castle replied simply. "And she can handle him if she needs to."

"I hope you have enough people to get that deadline finished without you," Beckett commented, sitting with Brad at the table as Skye leaned against the wall next to the mirror.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ralston said in annoyance. He leaned back as soon as he saw the picture of a man with a knife sticking out of his chest and he asked, "Who the hell is this?"

"That is the man that was killed at the house you were building," Skye commented.

Ralston looked stunned and said, "The one that Symon killed, right?"

"Not the one he killed," Brad commented. "Turns out your former employee was working on getting a new job. Thanks to you."

When Ralston snorted Beckett said, "You never mentioned that you were sleeping with his wife."

"Yeah, I was," the man replied sharply. "Bernice and I haven't been together since three days ago." He shrugged and said, "Figured I should take away her money, she'd come running back to me."

"Slimy bastard," Darnley commented in observation. "No wonder Symon was so angry."

"He can also sue him," Castle pointed out.

"I would be really surprised if he's not the killer," Ryan said before they turned their attention back to the room in front of them.

"Have you seen her since then?" Beckett asked.

"No, I… have no idea where she is now but she sent me a text," Ralston said before he brought out his phone and then worked on it for a moment before sliding it across the table, watching the three reading the message from his lover. When they looked across the table at him he said, "Yeah, so things were definitely over."

"She never called you," Beckett stated.

"Nope, just that," Ralston replied easily, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

Studying him Skye asked, "Then let me ask you something about the house you were working on."

"We haven't been there for-" Ralston began to say defensively as he sat up.

"We're aware; just answer the question," Beckett interrupted before looking over at the investigator.

"You didn't have drywall in the house, why were there doors?" Skye asked.

"Because it was requested by the owner of the house… former owner, whatever," Ralston replied, waving his hand.

"Roro Soverall," Beckett said.

"Yeah, him," Ralston said. "He wanted to check the doors he had and make sure they looked good."

"Damn," Esposito said. "Almost thought Soverall might be involved."

"I did too," Darnley commented.

"So you left them?" Beckett was saying back in the room.

"Yeah, because by the time we got to where we needed to take the doors off we were told to stop building," Ralston replied. "And you know Bernice hated Symon, why don't you look at her to see if she's framing him?"

"Alright, we'll need to check out your alibi," Brad said as he knew they didn't have anywhere else to go with questioning until they could see where the man had been.

Leaving the room; to Ralston asking them all when he could leave; Beckett stayed behind as Skye and Brad went over to his office. She waited for her husband to walk out from observation and said, "Think he's serious about the doors?"

"He could be," Castle said with a nod. "What about the wife framing Symon?"

"That's going to be a little harder to prove," Beckett said. "But I'm sure he'll put out an APB for her."

"He is," Castle commented, seeing his friend walking over to where dispatch was. He then placed his hand on her back before they walked together to the office where Skye was writing on the board and Esposito was on the phone on the chief's desk.

"Is he checking Ralston's alibi?" Beckett asked Ryan and Darnley in surprise.

"Yeah, he's posing as Wade," the former said. "He's busy getting the APB out with Chief Davis so…"

"If Wade's okay with that," Castle commented. He then said, "At least you guys are getting to help."

"Yeah…" Ryan said slowly. He then looked at Castle and Beckett and seeing their inquisitorial expressions told them, "It's not that he wants to work with you here," keeping his voice quiet as he looked over at his partner. "More-"

"He wants us to go back," Beckett interrupted.

"Yeah, now that Gates is getting closer to retiring and everything," Ryan said before he sighed. "I told him you have three kids; one of them a baby; but he thinks you could manage coming back."

"What about-" Castle started to say before Esposito was hanging up.

"Okay, talked to the guy who's running things right now and he said Ralston's been there since eight," the detective said. "They do have a deadline with a sun patio at a house that they're almost finished with."

"For the fourth?" Castle asked.

Nodding Esposito told them, "There are security cameras since they have tools they leave at a shed the owners own at the house."

"No one's wondering about the trailer at the house here?" Skye asked them.

"What about the trailer?" Brad asked as he walked inside. After he was informed about Ralston's alibi and he'd called to Rice to let Ralston out from interrogation he then told the officer to bring the man over to the office.

"Do some of us need to leave?" Skye asked the chief.

Shaking his head Brad watched the doorway, waiting for Ralston to appear before he said, "You're free to go."

"I guessed that already," the man said in annoyance. "So why am I not being let out fully?"

"Why weren't you taking the trailer?" Brad asked him.

"I have a second one," Ralston said with a shrug. "That one's at the house we're working on now."

"But leaving your other trailer where it is right now," Beckett began as she knew where the chief was going with that question. "Shows us you might be going back to work on it though the owner of the house is currently incarcerated."

"It's my hope," Ralston replied with another shrug.

"I can-" Brad started to say.

"Look I got word from the HHSPL," Ralston finally said. "They were going to sue Soverall for the house."

"The house that you're building," Castle stated.

Before Ralston could say anything, Hutchinson ran up to them and told them that Bernice Symon's car had been found outside a hotel in Springs.

"Take him and have him write a statement," Brad said in a hurried tone. "We need to know everything you know about the league," he directed to Ralston. "And you need to stay until we get back."

"Hey-" the man said in protest before everyone but the officer was leaving.

"Are you going in with SWAT?" Castle asked his friend as they were hurrying to the exit out on the officer's parking lot.

"No but it's either she's the killer and she's on the run," Brad began. "Or she's being held hostage."

"Awesome, vests… wait, what about them?" Castle asked as he nodded over to the others who were following them.

"Guys," Brad said. "I'm taking Castle and Beckett with me in my squad car," he said, directing that to the boys. "I need you two to stay and please keep an eye on Ralston."

"And me?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, you need to see her," Brad told her, tossing a vest at her.

"Honestly?" Skye said with a sigh.

"Yes Hermione," Brad replied. "Darnley," he said, tossing another vest to him.

"Ah… okay," the man started to say before he looked over at Esposito and Ryan who were already walking back into the bull pen. "Let's go," Darnley said quickly.

* * *

"The Motel Inn?" Beckett asked Brad as they were nearing Springs nearly a half hour later.

"Yeah there was a murder there, pay by the hour," the chief said slowly.

"What's on your mind?" Castle asked from the back seat.

"I'm leaning more towards her as the killer and she's on the run," Brad told the two.

"I am too but I'd rather hold off until we see her," Beckett said. "Sit back," she said, pushing her husband's arms off the back of the front seat.

"Um… to be honest I haven't really thought about it," Castle said slowly. He then looked behind them; at his and Beckett's car where Darnley and Skye were; and seeing the flashing light Brad had given them said, "Were you serious about Skye going?"

"Yes, she's been right so far," Brad said.

"I think we all agreed Ralston was a jackass," Beckett said wryly.

"We did but she'll notice something we don't," Brad commented. "I'm assuming it's from looking into planes."

"It might be," Beckett said. "Though-"

"You were sisters though," Brad said. When he saw the look she was giving him he said, "There's no way you can deny you're not close. Despite you having a lot of differences."

"We're different people," Beckett said in slight annoyance.

"Better stop," Castle said, trying not to show his amusement when his wife glanced back at him. "She does believe it but don't press the issue."

"Issue?" Brad asked.

"It's not an issue," Beckett said with a sigh. "But what is, is that you're about to miss the exit."

"Ah! Brad!" Castle exclaimed as they were swerving to the right suddenly. "Get Beckett to drive!"

"I think I did the same thing," she commented, looking over her shoulder at husband.

"You had more finesse," Castle commented. He merely smiled when she turned more fully and slightly narrowed her eyes at him before he waved his fingers slightly when Brad was stopping. He leaned over to see past her and saw they were at a hotel that looked like it'd seen better days. "So… stay in the car?" he asked his friend.

"Please, Beckett?" Brad asked.

"Oh," Castle began before the two were leaving. "Come on," he breathed out. He watched them head up to the front office with a slight frown before he raced out of the car over to his.

"Let me guess," Skye said as she and Darnley looked into the backseat at him. "You were supposed to stay over there."

"I got lonely," Castle said simply.

"Where are you going to be while we go in?" Darnley asked.

"Probably stay with Skye," Castle said.

"Keep me company I imagine," Skye said, looking out the windshield. She scanned the rooms before she saw that Brad and Beckett were walking out to them swiftly. When she got out she said, "Second story?" The two looked at her in surprise immediately and she said, "Just a guess; have to make it difficult of course."

"Yeah, she's in 215," Brad said. "Around the corner so you guys stay here please," he told Castle and Skye.

"So these aren't needed," the investigator said, holding up her vest.

"Put that on," Brad said while they were putting on theirs.

Skye grumbled but still got the vest on while the three left and she noticed something while they were walking away. "He gets a gun?" she asked as she'd seen the chief slip one to Darnley.

"Yeah, he probably got permission from David," Castle answered. "And for the boys too of course."

"Does that ever bother you?" Skye asked.

"No," Castle said, knowing she was asking about him being unarmed. He glanced around and then grabbed her arm, pulling her after him to the other side of the hotel. When she didn't say anything in protest he looked at her questioningly.

"I figured," Skye said easily and together she and Castle looked up where they could see the three gathered together at a door before Brad was knocking on it and announcing themselves that they could hear.

"Mrs. Symon," the chief said. "This is the Hamptons PD, open up."

"Where's his backup?" Skye whispered before Castle was suddenly pulling her back a little more.

"To your left," he told the investigator at her startled expression.

Turning her head in that direction, Skye spotted someone behind the trees that were next to the hotel. She tried to see who it was exactly but could only tell that it was Hutchinson by her size. Turning back to the room she saw that Brad was opening the door with a skeleton key and she said, "Should we?"

"Other end," Castle said before they ran for the rooms on the bottom floor for cover.

"Mrs.- oh god," Brad nearly yelled as he had the door open and saw the three on the bed. "You three, stop right now please," he said as he whirled around to give them some slight privacy as they were exclaiming on the bed further back inside.

"We're dressed," the man of the trio called a little while later.

"Get Skye down here," Brad told Beckett in a low voice. "I want her to stand outside and hear what's going on."

"Why don't you let us talk to her?" she replied though she was motioning her husband and friend down to them.

"Better idea," Darnley commented. "She sounds like she's going to respond better to women." He glanced over at the open doorway and said, "Or else a man and a woman, either way."

"What?" Skye asked when she reached the three with Castle and saw the way they were looking at her. When they explained what the chief had seen inside she said, "Alright, but you'll stick by here right?"

After Brad had nodded in agreement Beckett went inside with him, Skye behind them so the chief could take the two lovers out to have Hutchinson speak with them. When they were alone she turned to Bernice and was about to begin with questioning her about who the two were to her when the woman spoke first.

"So my husband finally tried to find me? Why the vests though?" Bernice asked.

"Where are your clothes?" Beckett asked as, while her two lovers had actual clothing on the woman was wrapped up with the bed sheet.

"In… I guess the bathroom," Bernice replied, glancing around.

Glancing at Skye, Beckett saw the refusal to be the one to get the woman's clothing before she responded in the same manner. She quickly turned her attention to Bernice again before she asked, "We're not here because your husband is looking for you."

"Ah… Darnell must want to finish things up too," Berenice said with a self-satisfied smile.

"Where you between twelve and one?" Beckett asked shortly.

"On the road," Bernice said simply. When she saw the way the two women were looking at her she said simply, "My car broke down on the highway… it's probably still there. And Sammy and Wayne picked me up."

"And you came here," Skye commented.

"Yeah, they liked me and I liked them," Bernice said. "So why not?"

"A number of reasons," Skye muttered. She raised her voice when Beckett looked at her and said, "Do you know this man?"

Studying the picture of Langston, Bernice shook her head and said, "No idea. He's dead?"

"What about Mr. Ralston?" Beckett then said.

"Oh, an old fling," Bernice said, waving her hand. "Why? Do you think he killed the guy? Because he wasn't with me."

"You sound a bit disappointed," Skye commented.

"With his temper I wouldn't be surprised," Bernice replied. "Oh, did you know he's going through a separation with his wife?"

"We did," Beckett said, since it had been with the man's information. "And what does that have to do with you?"

Shrugging Bernice said, "Figured you might look at her."

"Interesting though how do you know we wouldn't take that as you trying to frame her?" Skye asked.

"Listen… lady," Bernice said in obvious annoyance as she studied the investigator. "I was done with Ralston he… never was that good. Now Wayne out there is phenomenal. Can they come back here, and we can finish what you interrupted?"

"We'll see, stay here," Beckett said before she turned and walked out of the room with Skye following her. "Well?" she asked her husband and Darnley as they were standing against the railing.

"Brad and Hutchinson are talking to them down there and at the end of the rooms," Castle said first.

"Think you can trust her alibi?" Darnley then asked.

"Probably," Beckett said.

"You can, she is high you know," Skye told them.

"I thought I smelled pot when the door was opened," Darnley commented. "Does it affect sex that much though?"

"I don't think any of us can answer that," Castle said when he, Beckett and Skye shared glances.

"Good to hear," Darnley said before he saw that Brad was walking down to them.

"They said they picked her up at about twelve thirty," the chief said once he was with them. "And I know there are cameras on that highway, so I can check it out."

"Going to let them get back to things?" Castle asked.

"Yes, but let me warn her," Brad told everyone before he went over to the door.

"So we're back at square one," Darnley stated.

"I think so," Beckett said. "Do you think the society…" she started to say as she looked at her husband.

"I don't," Castle replied. "But you know he's going to still consider it." He studied her and said, "You too."

"Not me, but I was hoping that he would," Beckett said simply.

"Then why did you ask about it?" Skye said in confusion.

"I think to keep me on my feet," Castle said wryly before they turned to Brad who was stepping back out to them.

"She's not going anywhere apparently," the chief said before he stopped and stepped out of the way of the two lovers who were hurrying back to the room. He shuddered and said, "Let's go back."

"You trust her alibi that much?" Skye asked him.

"They're starting to get the footage," Brad said. "Hutchinson called it in. So seriously," he said as the door had been slammed shut on the laughter of the two women in the room. "Let's go."

Following him to the flight of stairs nearest to them the three went straight to the squad car as they could all tell that the chief was becoming irritated. As they soon made their way back to the main road Castle shared a look with his wife; seated with him in the back; hoping that there would be something once they returned to the station.

* * *

"They're not going to be happy when they get back," Ryan said to Esposito as they were sitting down in front of the desk in the chief's office.

"You're not kidding," Beckett said, walking inside.

"Mrs. Symon was a bust?" Esposito said.

"You could say that," Castle commented as he followed his wife inside. "Also a temporary bust for her."

"She met a couple and they were at the hotel having sex when we got to the door," Beckett explained.

"All three of them," Ryan said.

"Yeah, fun to see," Brad said, his voice angry as he strode into his office. "Is Ralston gone?"

"Yeah, his statement is here," Esposito replied, handing the chief the pad of paper the man had written on.

"We were wondering about the… society you mentioned before you guys left," Ryan said.

"The Hamptons Historical Society Preservation League," Brad said. "They preserve the historical homes obviously and it's fairly big since the area is large."

"Have they been in trouble in some way before?" Esposito asked.

"Not so much in trouble but… exuberant in their efforts," Castle said. "They want to keep everything as it is of course, and they'll fight with everything they have to make sure that happens."

"Meaning they use the citizens," Beckett continued. "Petitions… meetings, that kind of thing."

"But their main choice of weapon is the petitions," Brad said. "The citizens love their towns and hamlets and if they're year rounders then they're passionate about it."

"We've signed some petitions," Castle said quickly as the boys looked at him and Beckett. "Actually we all have," he said, looking over at Brad.

"I was with you guys," the chief said in amusement. "But you know we'll have to consider the members of it."

"I would start with the board," Beckett said, not surprised when the chief nodded his head.

"Are you guys part of the group?" Ryan asked.

"No," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"They're too… rabid about their efforts," the former said. "When I first moved in someone came to my house and asked me to sign…" He looked at his wife and said, "It wasn't a contract."

"I think they meant it to be," Beckett replied as he'd told her the story before. "They tried to do that again after we'd gotten back from our honeymoon."

"I was half expecting them to ask us to sign it in blood," Castle said.

Seeing Beckett slightly rolling her eyes Skye then said, "What I don't understand is why they're involved with a new house."

"I thought the same thing," Beckett said.

"I don't know," Castle replied. "I mean the old house was… Richardsonian Romanesque but it wasn't that old, and I mean that literally. It was built in 1980 when my house was as well."

"You know yours is an odd style," Skye commented.

"You mentioned it before," Beckett said.

"California craftsman essentially," Skye said. "But I can see why they'd not want you to do anything to it; rare around here."

"What're you thinking?" Darnley asked.

"Even with it being built that far back that's a forty-year-old house," Skye commented. She paused in her pacing that she'd begun to do and then said, "Who was the architect?"

"Harrison Thorsen," Brad said, walking back into the office. "Bernier is going to look into the league. But I had them give me what they could on the home."

"You don't have anything in your hands," Castle commented.

"That was about all they got on a computer," the chief said. "Castle, Beckett."

"What?" Esposito said as Beckett was reaching for her purse she'd had in the office and Castle went over to the doorway.

"Library trip; anyone want to come with?" the latter asked the others.

"Pass, but what else is there we can do?" Ryan asked the chief.

"Nothing, the league's board is very large as they've divided the Hamptons into districts," Brad said. "Much like our sub stations are. I say go ahead and head back to your hotels or Castle and Beckett's home and we'll regroup tomorrow with that information. But thank you for your help, I'm sorry you couldn't-"

"We're a little outside our jurisdiction," Ryan interrupted. He shook Brad's hand before he waited for Esposito to do the same.

"You guys usually go at this time?" the detective asked after the other four had said goodbye to the chief.

"We do, he doesn't have us doing desk work too much," Castle answered. "Which is nice since we can get home sooner."

"Will he call us?" Ryan asked.

"We will, it won't be that early but just be prepared; if you want to continue," Beckett told the boys.

"I would," Esposito said, looking at his partner.

"Also to see what you might find at the library," Ryan said before they were in the parking lot.

"I'm wondering that too," Castle said.

Trying not to roll her eyes; as she knew from that that her husband wanted them to go; Beckett said goodbye to the two before they got into their car with Darnley and Skye. "Do you want us to drop you off at the house?" she asked since she was driving.

"No, I'd like to tag along, might look into your house," Skye said.

"Why?" Castle asked, looking back at her.

"Oh, no reason," the investigator said. "Hullo there," Skye said to Beckett as she could see the woman looking at her in the rearview mirror.

A little annoyed Beckett focused on the road until they were at the library close to home, going straight to her friend. " _What is it_?" she asked her in Russian.

" _Well… to be honest there is a reason_ ," Skye replied in the same language. " _But I don't really want to say anything for certain until I can be sure_."

"Don't tell Rick that," Beckett said as her husband was already going inside the building.

"He's that excited?" Darnley said with some laughter in his voice as he'd stayed behind with the two women.

"Hey, I thought you guys were following me," Castle said as he came back out to stand at the top of the steps when he realized he was alone.

"We are," Beckett said, going up to keep him from asking if anything was wrong. When they were inside she went to the front desk and handed the note that Brad had given her to the head librarian.

"Right this way," the woman said before she led them into the basement. "We have a number of records about homes. The League is very strict on making these available for the public."

"Are they copies or originals?" Skye asked.

"Originals, the League has all these papers in copy form," the librarian said.

"Are any members of the League working here?" Darnley asked.

"Oh, is that a problem?" the woman asked, turning to them after stopping abruptly. "Mr. Ellis down here in the city archives where I'm taking you is."

"It is, we'll need to have that room to ourselves," Beckett said. She was afraid the librarian would deny the request as she hesitated but finally she nodded and turned to lead them again.

Standing outside the room Skye said, "Should one of us be a look out?"

"Wow, that sounds like something I would say," Castle said to his wife.

"I know but she has a point," Beckett said.

"I'll do it," Darnley said.

"Okay," the librarian said after Ellis had left the room. "You can go in but please let me know if you need anything copied; I can't let you remove anything from the premises."

"Of course, thank you," Beckett told her. She was first inside the room and she looked around to see how things were set up. She quickly found the room's way of sorting the records; by alphabetical order by street. She went to the o's since their homes were on Ocean Avenue and she was pulling out a large book on 2104 which was the crime scene. She turned to the table and was startled when Skye suddenly appeared next to her, taking from 2100 which was their home. " _What do you honestly think you'll find_?" she said with a sigh and in Russian.

" _Nothing negative_ ," Skye said. " _Have fun_."

"What's she doing?" Castle asked, having watched them though he couldn't really understand them.

"I'll explain later," Beckett said, opening the book to the first page. "This… you said it was built in 1980, right?" she said as she and her husband looked at each other.

"I thought it was," Castle said.

"Was anyone in the neighborhood there that year?" Beckett asked him.

"No," Castle replied. "The oldest person is Mrs. Aleman and she moved in five years after that. So that would be a reason to murder."

"It would," Skye said, closing the book she'd been looking at. "You might have a nice conspiracy to murder."

"The whole board?" Darnley asked as he walked up to them. "I could hear you," he explained when he saw they were all looking at him questioningly. "Hopefully Brad gets something. Now call him and I'll drive."

"Could just walk," Castle said after taking pictures with his phone so they wouldn't alert the room's supervisor that they'd found anything.

"Driving's faster," Beckett said.

About to open his mouth to comment Castle stopped himself swiftly as he studied her face before he said, "Right, we should do that."

Though Darnley looked at Skye the investigator shook her head and once things were returned to their places they led the way out so they could return to their families after what had felt like a long day with the case. Castle and Beckett were talking to the chief and they weren't surprised Brad jumped on the news the house had been more than one hundred years old as it was a solid lead that was more likely to work out compared to what they'd gotten so far.


	8. From Another Lifetime

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _Backwards Traveller_ by Paul McCartney; from the Wings album _London Town_ ; and _Broomstick_ by Paul McCartney.

A/N #2: I was happy getting the feedback for the last chapter so will go ahead and get my thank yous started! MsNYC (I'm not surprised that you would love to learn to play the piano from Paul like the girls did, lol, but I am glad you had that reaction! I'm not surprised either that you mentioned Eliza being sad not being able to play with Maddy. And I had to laugh at you saying only Castle could get excited over lace material, but you make a point with that. I wasn't surprised it made you think of the eppy where Carrie was referenced, lol. And yeah, lol, I was trying to convey that Brad got an eye full at that hotel, so glad you got that! I wasn't surprised you were wondering why the boys were getting, as you called it, gopher work, but I did answer that for you. Though with that I'm not surprised you were wondering about the jurisdiction part since there's the connection with the mayor of course. I'm glad that you thought that Skye and Beckett are like twins. And not surprised you thought the look out was so like Beckett, lol. And yeah, Skye would partially have a different outlook on investigating since she usually looks at planes; though NTSB investigators will look at people as well so there's that too. But I do try to put she can pay attention to detail the same as Beckett. And of course, I was pleased that you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Glad to see you like that part of the chapter was focused on the family and Paul there and then the other part was back to the case),

Mb (Happy to see you thought the last chapter was a great update! And I wasn't surprised you loved that Paul gave Julia, Eliza and Mari a piano lesson and the guitar one for Julia. Also the same that you enjoyed that mini concert, lol. I also wasn't surprised you too were hoping that someone was filming that lesson for the adults that were working on the investigation, lol, since that's something for them to see. Great you loved them making cookies and then them enjoying archery after. I wasn't surprised you enjoyed them decorating the cookies with Alexis telling them the rules about the frosting and sprinkles. And yeah, the frosting is the best part, lol. I'm really happy you think the lace for the dress and the jackets for the girls should be beautiful since I wasn't sure what the reaction would be for that, lol. Really great you thought it was beautifully written and sweet too. You're welcome for the first half! You got what I was doing with the case, lol, getting more suspects before dismissing those and then even more coming up, lol, usually that's what happens. And not surprised you think the boys will get their chance in the field with so many suspects, and turns too as you said, in the case. With you thinking it was interesting about Ryan's thoughts about Esposito wanting Castle and Beckett to return to the city and to the NYPD you caught what I wanted to introduce with that. And I wasn't surprised that you don't believe they would do that because of the threat of Tyson and his followers there and their three children. But great that you mention that Beckett is so good at writing now after doing it with Castle so many times. And I agree on her and Castle not wanting to miss out on the family time they have, and relish in as you said. You got what I was doing having them consult with Brad, it helps them keeping themselves sharp with investigations, since they're writing about that of course. And not surprised you were laughing at what Brad had to see in the hotel unexpectedly, lol, definitely would be ingrained in the back of his eyeballs as you said. It was nice to see that you thought it was interesting that there's a possible motive with the historical society and the age of the house since I had hoped that would pique reader's interest. And I had to laugh at you saying I was setting up something. And I did in fact see the carpool karaoke with Paul, I loved it, and when I wrote this story his new album wasn't around, so it won't be here, but it may be in a future story, though in this one it's the year 2020 which means _Egypt Station_ has been out for two years, lol, lucky universe. But again, in the future I can work it in, I want to as I absolutely love the song _Come On to Me_. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!) and

vetgirlmx (For some reason I wasn't surprised that you thought it was a nice conspiracy, lol. And not surprised you can imagine them capable of murder. But not surprised you mentioned that there's finally a promising lead. And yeah, lol, I wasn't surprised either that you mentioned how many people they cleared, lol, in just this chapter alone. It is a lot, you're right, just how it ended up working out in my head for some reason, lol. You're also right about the fact that with the first half it was different with it not being Castle or Beckett around, lol, but I wanted to try that out and see how it would go. And hey, lol, imagine writing all those people, lol, I really had to recall where everyone was which took a bit, lol. And yeah, lol, though I'm not really that musically talented, I would love to get a lesson like that from Paul, so I suppose it's a bit of wishing I could, lol, that I included it. And you're right, with that kind of teacher that would be motivation to get better as you said. Interesting you found yourself smiling with the reactions with the chapter, pleased that you did of course. And that list you had I was very happy you mentioned everything, though laughed that you mentioned Castle and Skye ignoring the stay in the car request, lol, since of course that's something I took from the show, just seemed like something she would do too. Really nice to see you thought it was a very fun chapter to read. And of course, I'm glad you can't wait to see what's next which you don't need to do anymore!).

Thanks so much for all the reviews, loved reading them and I'm grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

From Another Lifetime

"They didn't answer," Jim told Martha as he put his phone back into his pocket. "I'll get the bottle ready."

"I'll take her upstairs before she starts crying," Castle's mother said, walking swiftly to the stairs. Before she could start up them though she heard Eliza cry, "Mommy and Daddy are home!" She was going to go to the foyer and wait for the two there since she knew Josie would need her mother. But the baby took the decision out of her hands as she started to cry, and she hurried up the stairs.

"Martha, wait!" Beckett called as she saw her mother in law disappearing down the hall. She ran to her when she heard she'd stopped going up and took the baby before continuing the rest of the way to the second floor until she was inside Josie's room.

"Hand her to me," Castle told his wife after he slipped inside, closing the door behind him. He did his best to comfort their baby daughter while Beckett was removing her top and handed her to his wife as soon as she was ready for Josie.

"I should have worn a blouse," Beckett said with a sigh and shaking her head. But the baby was settled, nursing at her right breast, and she was quiet then, carefully rocking her mother's chair she was sitting in. Since it was near the bed she smiled up at her husband as he sat next to her and she said, "Luckily we were able to come back."

"We-" Castle started to say before he was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. He got up hurriedly and when he was able to open it enough to speak out of it he asked, "Who is it?"

"Me, Dad," Julia said.

"It's Julia," Castle told his wife.

"Let her in," Beckett said before something came to mind. "Wait," she said quickly. "Where's Mari?"

"Is Mari with you?" Castle asked through the opening.

"No, just me," Julia said. When her father opened the door, she slipped in quickly and said, "Does Mom not have her clothes on?"

"No," Beckett called. "Just my shirt, I wore the wrong one."

"Oh," Julia said, looking over at her and seeing that she was nursing with her bra still on. "Good thing you have those special ones."

"You can say what it is," Beckett told her, a smile on her face. When Julia just shrugged she motioned her oldest over to her and squeezed her shoulder. "I'll do better when we're finished. So how come you came upstairs?"

"You didn't solve the case, did you?" Julia asked.

"I'm afraid not," Castle said. He then paused and said, "You want to know about it, don't you?"

"That would be nice," Julia commented.

Beckett smiled and then began to talk about the case; since her husband was looking at her to do that; though she was careful to censor what needed to be. But finally she had told her everything and she watched as hers and Castle's eldest seemed to be thinking over what she'd heard.

"What do you think?" Castle asked after watching her for a while.

"I don't know… but would they really hurt somebody just 'cause the house is gone," Julia said. "And didn't they keep some of it."

Freezing again Castle looked at his wife; who'd done the same before she rushed to finish switching Josie to her other breast; and then said, "I forgot about that, but just the wood frame inside. The outside is going to be more modern."

"You need to call Brad," Beckett told her husband. "He might not have seen the house."

"No," Castle said absently. He swiftly dialed his friend's number before ducking into the bathroom, just as Julia was asking Beckett something though he didn't have a chance to hear since Brad answered quickly.

"Do you know why boys like… those?" Julia asked, knowing her cheeks were a bright red as she nodded towards her mother's chest.

"Not exactly," Beckett said slowly though they'd talked about that before. "I think they just do." She then studied her daughter and asked her, "Why do you ask?"

"I see Dad…" Julia said before she bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

"That's normal," Castle said as he'd managed to hear some of the conversation. "Though I guess I should curb that," he directed to his wife.

"I doubt you could," Beckett said in amusement. She then said, "Hand me a towel?"

"I couldn't take her?" Julia asked.

"I can take care of that," Castle said as he went to get the towel.

"Let me," Beckett said firmly. When she saw the slightly disappointed expressions on both their faces she said with a smile, "You two will have a chance to do this again. I'd like the turn since I wasn't here all day."

Julia watched her mother pull Josie away from her breast before she turned to her father and said, "You don't hurt Mom, do you?"

"Hurt- of course not," Castle said. "But why do you ask that?"

"She means you handling my breasts," Beckett told her husband as she began to carefully burp Josie.

"What did you tell her?" Castle asked his wife.

"Nothing so why she thinks you'd hurt me I don't know," Beckett said.

Squirming a little when her parents both looked at her Julia explained, "If you like them you touch them, and Mom said she does the same thing."

"To myself," Beckett said quickly in case her husband was intending to make a smart-ass comment. "I told you sweetie, it's nice to do and that's why."

"Okay," Julia. "Sorry."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm happy to hear you're so curious," Castle said. "After all you're going to become a woman. Hopefully years from now," he added talking mischievously out of the side of his mouth. When Julia playfully pushed him he laughed and said, "But it happens." He then saw the girl frowning as she was thinking, and he was about to ask her what was wrong when his wife beat him to it though she didn't word it as he'd been about to.

"What's on your mind sweetie?" Beckett asked her.

"Just that I wonder how long that will take," Julia said. She added; before her mother could say anything; "I wish I really could know."

"It'll happen soon enough," Beckett said with a smile. She felt Josie relax against her so she let Castle take the baby before she took her shirt from Julia. "Thank you, sweetie."

Nodding Julia waited for her mother to put it back on before standing up and she said, "Thanks for telling Paul to teach me," as she took her hand.

"Did he while we were gone?" Castle asked, walking over to stand with them once Josie was asleep at his walking around.

"Leave her here," Beckett told her husband.

"Are you sure?" Castle said in surprise.

"To let the other kids play," Beckett explained.

"Okay," Castle said with a nod before he went with her to the crib. He and Beckett kissed her and then glanced at Julia who quickly reached up to take her little sister's hand.

"We'll see you later Josa," the girl said with a smile. "Sweet dreams. I'll go down and tell everyone that you're coming down. And he taught me, Lizzy and Mari while the twins, Fleur, Erin and everyone else watched."

Looking on while their oldest left Beckett turned to her husband and said, "Did you say anything?"

"No… I think she just guessed," Castle said with a smile. "And I'm glad she did." He turned back to the crib before he put Josie down on it carefully so she wouldn't wake up. When he saw that she hadn't he grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her out into the hall before he wrapped his arms around her. He was relieved when she responded in turn and they began to kiss hungrily though he could hear their family and friends distantly.

Once their tongues had dueled for a while Beckett ended the kiss before she sighed and said, " _Tonight_ -" in Irish before he interrupted her.

" _It's okay, you're tired_?" Castle asked.

" _Slightly_ ," Beckett admitted. She brushed her lips to his and said softly, " _But doing this is fine_."

"Yeah," Castle said before he leaned down to her and captured her lips with his own. After they slowly stopped and had parted he said, " _But you owe me something tomorrow night_ ," watching her to see how she would react.

" _You want to talk about tomorrow night already_?" Beckett asked with her eyebrow slightly raised.

" _Just to let you know that I'm deciding_ ," Castle said, also wondering how that would be taken.

Giving him an up and down glance Beckett merely smiled at him before she slipped from his hold and walked over to the stairs. Right when she had reached the door to Julia's room she was gasping as her husband was pulling her back against him. "Rick," she said simply.

" _You can't expect me to just let you go after that_ ," Castle said before he carefully made her turn around. When he saw the smile on her face he pulled her against him immediately and crushed his lips down to hers as she was wrapping her arms around him. He couldn't stop himself from holding her tight to feel her but made sure he wasn't doing anything other than holding and kissing her that might arouse her. When they parted he said, " _So is tomorrow night okay_?"

Shaking her head, and smiling at the same time, Beckett said, "I think it will be." They shared another kiss, lingering for a while but keeping it calm, and when they were looking at one another again she said in English, so he would know she was serious, "We need to go."

"After you," Castle said though he took a moment to let go of her.

Leading the way down the stairs Beckett went to the living room, not surprised everyone was there since it was slightly bigger than the family room. "Hello," she said when she saw some of them were looking at her.

"Mommy!" Eliza said happily, running around everyone before she threw her arms around her.

"Sorry I didn't stop to see you sweetie," Beckett said, hugging her tightly.

"I know you had to go feed Josa," Eliza said. She then went to her father and hugged him saying, "Where is she?"

"She's going to sleep for a little bit, but she'll join us for dinner I'm sure," Castle told her before he picked her up, throwing her above him a little.

"How were things?" Paul asked as he came over with a smile.

"Illuminating," Castle said first.

"He's right but we haven't really gone anywhere," Beckett said with a smile. "Thank you for teaching them."

"Oh, he sang some songs too," Julia added, having gone over to her parents by then.

"Did anyone film that?" Castle asked, looking around the room.

"I did," Jim said with a smile. "Girls."

Beckett was a little startled when her father didn't say anything else after that and she turned to her daughters saying, "What's wrong?"

Julia, after her little sister looked over at her, told their parents, "We'd like to go to the pool. It'd be fun," adding the last rapidly so their parents might agree. She waited anxiously as they looked at each other, hoping they would say they could go as she wanted to swim with them again as did Eliza.

"We can," Beckett said. "But we don't all have to go," she told their guests. "We're going to eat soon so that gives us at least an hour and a half. I think we should eat down at the pool too."

"Yeah… what though?" Castle said with a slight smile before they looked together at the adults in the room.

"Pizza," Martha was the first to say. "It seemed great because most of the kids were asking to swim at the pool."

"That's fine, did anyone order?" Castle asked.

"Not yet," Nkosi said. "We did not know when you would be back."

"By the way," Darnley said. "Where are Skye and Mary?"

The twins and Fleur looked at each other and then began to giggle together before Marie was able to calm down first and she told everyone, "They went to go snog."

"Where?" Julia asked as the two women had come into the room with them before she'd gone upstairs to Josie's room.

"They probably ducked outside," Beckett said. "Does anyone need to get ready?" When some nodded their heads and others shook them she said, "Then let's meet back here and go down to the pool." Before she heard anyone's reaction she was going quickly over to the door leading to the backyard, not seeing the two women. When she stepped outside the then saw that they were in the gazebo and Mary was crying out as Skye lunged at her playfully.

"Oh… Rose you're going to pay for that," the investigator's wife said laughingly. "Especially since Kate just saw that."

Sitting up, but not moving her hand from her wife's breast just yet, Skye said, "We're here for a reason."

"I know, it's hard to see anyone sitting where you two are unless you're in the kitchen," Beckett told them as she stood at the entrance to the gazebo.

Sighing and moving away from Mary so she wouldn't touch her inappropriately again, Skye said, "Are we eating?"

"No, going to the pool," Beckett answered absently.

"The girls were asking," Mary told her wife. "I'll be back." She got up and then hurried past Beckett before she went inside the house.

"I should go help her, but I get the feeling you wanted to talk," Skye said, standing up.

"No, just something that Julia said but I realized it was simply curiosity," Beckett replied. When she saw the expression on the investigator's face she told her what her oldest had said before saying, "She's wondering."

"Oh sure," Skye commented. When Beckett looked at her questioningly she smiled and said, "Other breasts too, not just her own."

"Did you do the same?" she asked.

"Of course, thought they were…" Skye began before trailing off and looking away.

"I'm aware, you like them," Beckett said. "I've always wondered though what they are to you."

" _You mean my wife's? The ones I was just grabbing on?_ " Skye asked in Russian before she and Beckett started to laugh. " _They're very nice to take with my mouth of course, I do the same thing a straight guy would. And what's better is that doing that to her gives her pleasure. That's what_ Julia's _curious about you know_."

" _I did tell her what they could do to a woman herself_ ," Beckett said. " _And when I told her family life she asked if touching them was the same for me… pleasurable_."

" _Good, she needs to know this isn't just what other women feel but someone she knows so she knows it's true or real_ ," Skye said with a nod. " _She should be curious about herself and it looks like she is_."

Nodding her head rapidly Beckett said, " _My mother told me the same when she told me about that. I just wanted to see if maybe she'd realized_."

" _Not quite yet_ ," Skye said before they turned to walk down to the door to the house.

" _Quite yet_?" Beckett asked, studying her.

" _Well I'd like to say she's close but it's more the thought process is happening_ ," Skye said. " _Just let her see who she is_."

Beckett nodded before she stepped into the house first, startled to see her husband walking to them in his swim trunks again. But it wasn't his attire that had surprised her, more the fact that he was holding their baby girl in his arms. "She's awake?" she asked.

"Max and Molly were sniffing around her crib," Castle replied, letting her see Josie as she was against his shoulder. "But she didn't cry, I swear she was smiling at them. I even took a screenshot with the webcam."

"Don't look at me," Skye said in protest before she hurried past them. "I don't know where that phone is, and I don't want to either."

"I'll look at it later," Beckett said, knowing she was joking about getting Castle's phone in his one of the pockets on his shorts. When she saw her husband was going to comment she gave him a look before he told her he would be down at the pool. She kept him from leaving her by giving him a kiss though it couldn't last long with some of the kids coming down the stairs already. She let him go before she turned her attention to hurrying up the stairs and changing herself to join everyone else that was gathering around the pool. When she walked through the gate she was startled as her cousin came up to her with a drink, about to ask him what it was when he swiftly answered her unspoken inquiry.

"It's a mocktail," Brennan said with a smile. "He made them."

"And who's he? A lot of males here… Keo?" Beckett asked with a slight smile.

"Your husband but it looks like your husband also gave you that joke," Castle said as he'd walked up to them in time to hear them. "It's fruit and pineapple juice… I guess sangria."

"Thank you," Beckett said. "But what about dinner?"

"I'll be right back," Castle said, taking the glass back from her.

"Paul wasn't bored, was he?" Beckett asked her cousin when they were alone.

"Oh no, he seems to enjoy talking to Julia," Brennan replied. They looked over at the girl, who was swimming around in the shallow end with Mari and the twins, before he said, "Interesting since he knows she's such a big fan."

"I think he likes how she looks deeply into his lyrics and loves the music for dancing," Beckett said. "Or else they're writing a song and not telling us."

Brennan laughed and said, "Could be," before he left her to go to his daughter who was calling out to him in the water.

"What's the joke this time?" Castle asked, walking back over to his wife.

"Not a joke," Beckett replied before she told him what she and Brennan had talked about.

"That would be so cool," Castle said, turning to look over at their oldest before he saw that Paul was standing near them. "You're not writing a song together are you?"

Laughing the singer said, "I suppose I should let you in on the secret. Do you remember when I was last here?"

"Of course," Beckett answered, her husband nodding.

"That morning when I was up having some porridge with Julia?" Paul said.

"Oh… but a song?" Castle asked.

"A chorus," Paul said. "We started the first two lines and sent those to Skye and she and Mary have worked on some of the verses, I've taken the rest and we'll have something for Abbey Road next year."

"Can we know what she thought of or do we have to wait for next year?" Castle said, looking at his wife.

"Ask and she'll decide," Paul said.

"You sneaky Scouser," Skye commented, walking by them.

"Ah, sly Yank," Paul shot back before they laughed together.

"We… she didn't," Beckett said, looking at her husband and seeing that he looked as stunned as she felt.

"Could ask her," Castle said.

"Ask who what?" Julia said. She was surprised when her parents looked at her in obvious shock and she said slightly uncomfortably, "Are you gonna come swimming Mom?"

"Sweetie, Paul told us you helped him with some lyrics," Beckett said, deciding not to form that as a question so Julia wouldn't see her as pushing her for an answer. But as her oldest blushed she had to wonder if she would answer since Julia seemed to be a little uncomfortable. She was just about to tell the girl that she didn't need to say when she took her hand and squeezed it tightly as she finally spoke to them both.

"It was just two lines… I made it like a poem 'cause I can't write songs," Julia said.

"You know songs are basically poems," Castle commented.

"And you were able to if he's using those lyrics," Beckett replied. "Come over here so you can tell us. I hope."

Julia couldn't help giggling softly before she let her mother lead her over to one of the lounge chairs, waiting for her to remove her sundress before she said, "I will tell you; Paul said it was okay."

"Then tell us," Castle said, making his voice as eager as possible to make the girl smile which she soon did.

"Hold on," Julia said. She could tell her parents were slightly impatient but called Mari over to them and once her friend was with her told her about what she'd said to her parents.

"Then what's the lines?" Mari asked.

"We've been wondering that too," Beckett said, cupping Julia's cheek with a smile when her oldest scrunched her nose at her.

"It's just _Fair land bestow green and blue, Mind wanders with wonder all around and through_ ," Julia said with a shrug.

"That's pretty good," Castle said immediately.

"He's right… is this about Ireland?" Beckett asked before she looked around for Paul but saw the singer was in the pool.

"It is," Skye said, coming over to them and dripping wet as she'd just stepped out of the water. "He said he's sung about England and Scotland and Julia suggested he should try Ireland as well."

"He's Irish," the girl said in slight embarrassment when her parents and friend turned to her. "Come on Mari, let's get the bouncy ball so we can play," she said before they could say anything, taking her friend's hand and pulling her over to the storage room as her parents were watching them go.

"Should we be surprised?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said simply. "I did read to her a lot and then we both did."

"You did," Castle said in agreement. "And so did I eventually. Though with that I wonder if she's secretly writing poetry and is embarrassed about it. I really don't want her to be."

"Neither do I but she isn't," Beckett replied. When he looked at her with a slightly startled expression on his face she smiled and said, "I've told her that whatever she does she doesn't need to hide it from us; especially if it involved writing in any way."

"Thank you," Castle told her slightly seriously.

"It wouldn't matter if we weren't writers," Beckett commented. "I would tell her the same thing." The way he squeezed her hand let her know he was grateful for that as well and she did the same back to him and quickly before she said, "I'm eager to hear the song."

"Can't," Skye said, going over to the table in between the two lounge chairs they were standing at. She picked up her glass of water and said, "We haven't finished it yet. Writing an ode to Ireland is bloody hard."

"Are you putting Irish in it?" Castle asked interestedly.

"Of course, problem is we're translating into that instead of starting out in Irish in the first place," Skye said. "We did translate Julia's line though." She then looked around and called out to Paul, "Mind if I sing the first line?"

"In Irish?" the singer asked. When Skye nodded he said, "Hold on." He got out of the pool and walked over to them before he said, "Go ahead, I'd like to hear what you would like the song to sound like."

Skye nodded and said, "Only one line won't give you much and this is more to let you know how we might like the music to sound."

"I thought so," Paul said before he looked at her pointedly.

Clearing her throat slightly Skye began to sing, looking over at Julia who was watching with all the other kids in the pool. She took a quicker pace for the lyrics singing, " _Talamh cothrom bhronnadh glas agus gorm_ _, Mind wanders with wonder all around and through_." She was going to speak to Paul when there was applause and she smiled saying, "Thank you so much but that should go to Julia since she wrote those; I just did the translating at the start."

"Thanks," Julia said with a laugh as Mari hugged her.

"What did you think?" Skye called to the girl.

"She's right," Beckett said, unable to help smiling as Julia had given Skye a thumbs up. "But why is the second lyric in English?"

"Wouldn't translate," Skye said. "I wonder if it would make sense to really translate it," she directed to the singer.

"I like it though," Paul said. "Just one line but we'll have to do something with it. We'll figure it out in the studio."

"As long as we can finish it," Skye said. When Paul nodded she watched him return to his wife in the pool before she turned to her friend and said, "Are you going to swim at all?"

"I am," Beckett said with a smile. "We were a little busy talking." She watched as Skye went to where Mary was on a lounge chair and turned to her husband saying, "Call for dinner?"

"Sure," Castle replied. "But I can come back and swim, right?" He was startled when she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before leaving him to go down the steps into the water. It took him a moment to shake himself but he went quickly up to the house so he could get their dinner ready to be delivered and then have time to swim with his family once he could get back to them.

"You made it to the pool Mom," Julia said with a smile as Beckett had swum over to where she was at the deep end.

"I got very busy talking," Beckett said, kissing the side of her head before she held onto the edge of the pool. "Do you know you forgot about something?" she then asked her.

"I didn't," Julia said, smiling again. "You just got really busy with Josa and then we came to the pool and everything."

"Where are they?" Beckett asked.

"In your office," Julia answered. "I thought that was the best place 'cause no one goes in there but you."

"Thank you for doing that," Beckett told her. "And I'll open the envelope soon."

"Sure," Julia said. She wasn't surprised when her mother laughed and ran her hand over the back of her head as she was trying to hold back with her impatience. "Sorry but I want to see them really badly," she told her.

"I know, and I do too," Beckett replied. "Also, Paul and Skye-"

"And Mary," Julia added.

"Of course," Beckett said. She looked over at the entrance to the pool and said with a smile, "Your dad too."

"They'll be here in a half hour," Castle said when he was standing by them. "Watch out."

Beckett looked with Julia as her husband jumped over them before she turned to watch him resurface. After he'd done that she said, "How many did you get?"

"Five large we are… still a lot," Castle said before he looked back at Eliza who was calling to him. "I asked them to call your phone love."

Watching him swimming under the water towards the shallow end Beckett said to her daughter, "Come with me?"

"Sure," Julia said before she let go of the side and swam after her mother until she could walk, and they joined Castle who was with Eliza on his hip.

"What if you have to work on the fireworks day?" the little girl asked.

"We won't," Beckett assured her. "Brad won't make us do that."

"He wouldn't have to work?" Julia asked.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "His time off starts that day so he'll want to solve the case by Friday."

"I'm hoping we will," Castle told his wife. "That's too grim to talk about when we're having friends over though. Who wants me to throw them out into the water?" He wasn't surprised when all the kids that could swim started clamoring to him to do that, luckily Brennan came over and together they did that with the kids, taking turns.

"Hey, you're not going to bring Josie in?" Darnley asked his friend as he walked over to her with Keo on his hip.

"Yes," Beckett said, suddenly realizing she would need to bring her in before dinner. She climbed hurriedly out of the pool before she went to her mother in law who had stayed out with Josie. "She's not asleep, is she?" she asked Martha, smiling down at the baby who was yawning at that moment.

"Oh no, she's been eager to join you," Castle's mother said, smiling as she watched the way her daughter in law rubbed her thumb tenderly over Josie's face. She could also see that the baby was smiling at Beckett and she turned her attention to the pool to see if her son was watching them.  
Castle had looked behind him at that moment and saw his wife wasn't there, which made him go over to the steps while Nkosi took his place. Going out he found her at Josie's carrier and by the time he reached her saw her taking their baby out to hold her against her shoulder. "Going to take her in?"

"I want to," Beckett said before she moved Josie into her arms, cradling her so he could see their baby.

"Hey, ready to go swimming?" Castle asked her, letting her hold onto his index finger.

"Aaah," Josie said before she began to work her gums together.

" _Hungry_?" Castle asked his wife in Irish. When she gave him a look he merely smiled and told his mother, "We'll have her back out soon."

"I'll be ready," Martha said with a nod as she had a towel on the table next to her lounge chair.

Knowing that her mother in law would be ready to take the baby, Beckett turned to the pool and went down the steps with Castle close behind. It wasn't the first time they'd taken the baby in their pool, but she knew he still enjoyed taking her since they were both hoping Josie would be like her big sisters and love the water. Thinking of their oldest daughters she smiled as she spotted the girls; even Alexis; were making their way over to her. "Don't splash her too much," she said to Eliza as the little girl was splashing as she ran to them.

"Is she gonna get to go swimming now?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"I'm just putting her legs in," Beckett said. "But I'll sit for a little on the steps with her."

"Kay," Eliza said, beaming at her sister who was staring at her with wide eyes.

Beckett began to bend her knees, lowering both herself and Josie into the water as she listened for any crying. Luckily, she wasn't and she turned her head to kiss the baby's temple before Julia was leaning over to do the same. Once she had stopped she stood up and said, "I'll sit-"

"Do you think I could do that?" Alexis interrupted her stepmother.

Startled Beckett was about to ask the young woman if she was sure but seeing the way she was looking at her little sister she handed Josie over. "I want her to come back in but with your dad that time," she told her.

"Of course," Alexis said before she went over to the steps.

Castle was about to follow his oldest and youngest daughters when his wife suddenly grabbed his arm, making him look at her questioningly.

 _"Let them have some time alone_ ," Beckett said gently in Irish.

His head whipping to the side before he could stop himself, Castle saw that Louis had joined his daughter and he smiled. After a moment, he saw the way the two were looking at each other and he sucked in a breath before Beckett was pulling his head down to hers slightly. Though he was still trying to process what he'd seen between the couple with Josie he was unable to worry about it for very long as he was tempted heavily by his wife. He was annoyed that the kiss was short as she soon after pulled away but knew she wouldn't want to display that for their friends and family. " _Should I ask her_?" he asked in Irish.

"Leave them," Beckett said, having recognized the expressions on Alexis' and Louis' faces as the two suddenly thinking if they'd had a child of their own since she and Castle had looked at one another the same way before Eliza and Josie had been conceived. "And don't mention it later," she said firmly.

"I won't," Castle said slowly before he felt Julia wrapping her arms around him. He tore his gaze from his oldest over to the girl and he asked, "Are we swimming?"

"No, throw us please?" Julia asked him hopefully.

"Alright," Castle said, beginning to reach for her.

"Wait!" the girl exclaimed. When her father had stopped immediately she told him, "Lizzy first, then me and last Mom."

"Okay," Castle said, taking Eliza once she'd swum over to him. He threw her ahead of them into the water to her squeal of pleasure before he grabbed Julia. When the girls were out of the way he turned to his wife.

"Don't even think about it," Beckett told him as he walked up to her as she tried to walk backwards. But when her foot slipped slightly on the bottom of the pool she cried out with a laugh as he grabbed her and then pulled her underneath with him. The water covering her head was quick and she opened her eyes to look at her husband before she stood up speedily after. "You're lucky I love you," she told him with another laugh as she was wiping the water off her face.

"I know," Castle said, picking his wife up and then tossing her a little in front of him. He laughed as she started to run after him once she was standing and they began to splash each other heavily before their daughters were joining in.

With some of the others joining in the group was splashing at each other until Beckett was the first to stop and she went over to Alexis who was on her own since Louis had gone to join his family in the splash fight. "Want to join in?" she asked her stepdaughter with a smile.

"That would be nice," Alexis replied before she pressed his lips to Josie's forehead and handed her over to her stepmother. Squeezing Beckett's arm in passing she went over to her dad and sisters, jumping on Castle's back.

Watching everyone Beckett wasn't surprised when Darnley eventually broke off with his husband, Nkosi taking Keo as he got out of the water. "We were supposed to spend some time together weren't we?" she asked him as he sat on the top step next to her.

"My fend Dada?" Maddy asked as she was standing next to him.

"She can be but she's a little small to play," Darnley said, sharing a smile with Beckett at his daughter's questioning.

"Izzy!" Maddy cried out.

Swimming over to them quickly Eliza stood on the bottom step and asked, "Want to swim with me?"

"Yes!" Maddy pronounced eagerly.

"Can I hold her on my back?" Eliza said to her mother.

"Walk around here," Darnley told her as Beckett had looked to him. "And be careful."

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding her head rapidly. She then sat on the second step, waiting for Maddy to climb on her back. But when she didn't feel anything she turned to her friend, seeing the toddler with her fingers in her mouth. She was about to explain to her what to do when Darnley was doing that before she could.

"Like this sweetie," the man said, helping his daughter onto Eliza's back. "Don't hold her too tight or you're gonna hurt her," Darnley said once Maddy was ready.

Beckett tried not to burst out laughing when Eliza began to playfully hop around in the water, neighing like a horse. She had to lean over onto Darnley to cover up the sound but finally she could sit up and watch with him while their daughters went around in front of them for a little longer before Eliza was making her way back to the stairs. She was about to ask Maddy if she'd had fun when she heard her phone ringing making her call, "Rick."

"I heard," Castle said, going to the steps and kissing his wife's cheek when he passed by her.

"What?" Beckett asked her friend when he looked at her.

"No, nothing," Darnley said, shaking his head before he let Maddy get out since his husband was doing the same. "We have to eat, don't we?"

"We s- she's asleep," Beckett added as she glanced down at Josie. "I should get her into her carrier." She got up herself and let Julia dry off the baby's feet before she laid her down in the carrier. "Thank you," she told her oldest.

"You're welcome," Julia said, knowing her mother was referencing the fact that she'd gotten out of the pool before anyone told her to. "I wanted to help."

"And you did," Beckett said. "And you can again," she added while she was wrapping her daughter's towel around her. "Watch Josie while I dry Eliza off?"

"Sure," Julia said. When her mother had gone to get her little sister from the pool she turned to the baby, watching her with a smile as she dried off herself before their mother came back to them.

"Are we gonna swim again?" Eliza asked Beckett while she was drying off.

"Maybe a little bit," Beckett told her. "You'll need to take baths and showers."

"What about me?" Mari asked.

"Oh… Mari you should have reminded me about you," Beckett said, turning to the girl.

"I-" she began to say thinking Beckett was going to dry her off when she'd done that already. She then laughed as her best friends' mother was rubbing her hair to get the excess water off it until the towel was pulled off her. "Thanks, I never can do that," she told her.

"You're welcome," Beckett said, getting her own towel and starting to dry off her hair. When she was finished she slipped on her sundress before she could hear Josie starting to whimper. "What's wrong Josie," she said, heading to the baby quickly. She picked her up and then cradled her in her arms before looking at the entrance to the pool to see that Castle and her father were walking in with the pizzas. Since she had the baby calmed down by then she put Josie back into the carrier again, taking her over to the table so dinner could begin.


	9. From Another Lifetime (Part 2)

"Is she asleep?" Paul asked Castle and Beckett as they walked into the living room.

"She is," the latter said, glancing around the room. "Where is everyone?" Beckett asked.

"Down on the beach," Paul said. "Everyone volunteered me to remain here to tell you. Though why they did that I don't know."

"Is Julia bothering you at all to play again?" Beckett said as the singer stood up from the piano.

"Oh no, seems to be all the other kids," Paul said with a smile.

"Did your kids ever ask you to play?" Castle couldn't help inquiring as they were making their way over to the back.

"Not too much," Paul replied. "It was more I would just play. But this has another benefit."

"You mean playing?" Castle asked him.

Nodding Paul explained, "It lets me see how she is in different vocal ranges."

"Who's picking your song tonight?" Beckett then said.

"Julia has them in mind already," Paul answered. "Though there's a particular one I want to hear Skye handle on her own."

When her husband looked at her Beckett shrugged her shoulders and said, "Which song are you wondering about?"

"All of them, and that look was just force of habit," Castle told her before he put his hand on her back and then walked with her over to the where the kids were wading in the breaking waves chasing each other while the adults were on the blankets watching them.

"Hey, are we ready now?" Skye asked, first to spot the three.

"We are," Paul said first. "Do you happen to know the song of mine called _Backwards Traveller_?"

Sharing a look with her wife Skye smiled and said, "We do, is that our first request?"

"I didn't say it though I like that song too," Julia said since the investigator was looking at her.

"Oh…" Skye said, looking at the singer.

"That was me, I'd like to see you perform that one," Paul commented.

"With you or can I have Mary join in?" Skye asked.

"Go ahead," Paul said as he handed the acoustic in his hands to the investigator's wife.

"Oh no, that's Skye," Mary said. "Right handed," she added, holding up her hand. She took the guitar from her wife and then said to the kids that had joined them and were watching them, "She can play with both her left and right hand," focusing on Erin since she didn't think the girl was aware of that.

"I know," Erin said with a smile. "Did you learn how to do that?"

"Nope, was naturally like that," Skye said. "I'm quite rare."

Watching as Mary murmured in Japanese to her wife, Beckett tried her best not to smile at the way Skye's cheeks slightly flushed before she distracted herself with her guitar. She had no idea what the woman had said but was glad that the kids who were going to learn it from Skye hadn't yet as she was guessing it had been highly private. Shaking herself she sat down with her husband and said, "Did you practice this with the band?"

"No, just us and we've never done it as a performance so… this is rare," Skye said with a smile.

" _You recover quickly_ ," Beckett said in Russian.

Opening her mouth Skye realized her friend wouldn't have understood her wife promising to 'cater' to her that night since she was appreciative of something rare; something they teased each other about when discussing their intimacy together. She then grinned slightly and said, "Bugger off," playfully in English before she turned her attention to Mary with a questioning glance on her face.

"Don't forget that he asked you," she replied with a laugh. "Get started."

"Well I could-" Skye started to say jokingly.

"Get on with it!" Paul and Mary said at the same time.

"Oh," the former said as he looked around at the others. "Should have had us all join in, just like all those soldiers in the movie."

"What movie are they talking about?" Mari whispered to Julia.

"Dunno, but this song is really good. I hope she starts it soon," she answered, speaking a little louder at the end.

"Alright already," Skye said with a laugh. She looked down at her guitar and strummed it once before she began to sing the short song with Mary helping her on backup, trying not to look at Paul as she didn't want to see his reaction just yet.

 _Hey, did you know that  
I'm always going back in time  
Rhyming slang, Auld Lang Syne my dears  
Through the years_

 _I am the backwards traveller  
Ancient wool unraveller  
Sailing songs, wailing on the moon_

 _I am the backwards traveller  
Ancient wool unraveller  
Sailing song, wailing on the moon  
Wailing on the moon_

 _And we were sailing songs  
Wailing on the moon  
Wailing on the moon_

Playing the last three chords a little harder at the very end Skye smiled at the applause she and her wife were receiving. "Thank you," she told them.

"Oh, you did fabulous," Paul said when the investigator looked over at him. "So, should I join in."

Beckett saw the expression on Julia's face, since she was sitting by then with her, Castle and Eliza, and she told her, "He wouldn't mind if you changed your mind."

Looking at her mother with slightly wide eyes, Julia took off running to the singer and she whispered into his ear. "Can you play that with just acoustic guitars?" she asked once she had pulled away.

"Best ask Skye," Paul told her with a smile. "I can very well."

Hearing the song once Julia had whispered it into her ear Skye said, "One thing you should know is that we learn songs on acoustic first… the ones that aren't ours anyways. I do indeed know the song."

"I'm content to watch," Mary said since her wife had looked at her, leaning back on her hands as her wife took the guitar she'd played with.

"Set?" Paul asked Skye. When she nodded he turned to everyone else and was about to ask them if they were ready when most of the adults shouted, "Get on with it!" He laughed with the investigator and played the first two opening chords before he counted off for Skye so they could begin and sing together, having somehow come to the agreement to make it a duet.

 _As long as we're together, it's gonna be just fine  
'Cause I heard it on the wind  
Howling through the middle of the mind_

 _A little pinch of pepper,  
A little speck of spice  
Stir it in the cauldron  
And come up with something nice_

 _As long as we're together, it's gonna be just fine  
Just fine  
'Cause I heard it on the wind  
Howling through the middle of the mind_

Playing the instrumental, Paul nodded to Skye and they began to play against each other, him taking slightly higher chords while the investigator played lower. They switched in the middle of that and Julia was standing close to the two, just watching the way their fingers were so expertly playing before Skye sang the next lines by herself.

 _Yeah I heard it on the wind  
Howling through the middle of the mind_

Another instrumental and Skye was on her own, looking at Paul in slight surprise though she didn't stop, playing slide on the neck of her guitar though it didn't quite reach what the recording had but the singer didn't say anything before they were singing together again.

 _A little dash of magic  
A little splash of light  
Jump aboard my broomstick  
Come and join me for a flight_

 _As long as we're together  
It's gonna be just fine  
Well, I heard it on the broomstick  
Dashing through the middle of the night_

" _Yeah, there I was out on my broomstick again_ ," Paul half sang, half spoke, smiling at Julia who he'd heard singing with them before he turned his focus back on the next instrumental. But everyone seemed to be enjoying the performance, so he made sure to pick up where they would need to sing again.

 _And he told me once and he told me twice  
But I heard it in the middle of the night_

 _A little dash of magic,  
A little splash of light  
Put it in your camera  
And it's gonna turn out alright_

 _As long as we're together, it's gonna be just fine  
Yeah, all the time, yeah  
You know I heard it on the wind  
Howling through the middle of the mind_

" _Yeah, I was on my broomstick_ ," Paul spoke again. He heard a slight scream and noticed immediately that it was Julia, smiling and winking at her before he had to quickly go back to singing with Skye.

 _Well I heard it on the wind  
Howling in the middle of the night_

 _Oh yeah, as long as we're together  
It's gonna be alright_

After Paul and Skye had played out the last notes Beckett and Julia were the first to applaud and the former looked at her daughter to see the slight guilt on her face. "What's wrong?" she called to her

"Sorry about screaming," Julia said shyly to Paul.

"Why would you feel the need to apologize for that?" Skye asked her.

"You heard a lot of screaming before," Julia said to Paul.

With a smile the singer said, "It wasn't really that much of a scream but at least it let me know you enjoyed it. Are you sure about the last song?"

Julia glanced at her mother who nodded, and she then said, "Think we can play?"

"Sounds gear," Paul said.

Beckett laughed with the other adults as the kids were busy getting up and running back down to the beach. She kept her eye on their daughters, leaning against her husband when he wrapped his arm around her while the kids were splashing each other in the water the last bit of time they had before bed.

* * *

"Are you still gonna write in your diary?" Mari asked Julia as she was closing her bedroom door.

"Yep," Julia said. "But I'll try not to take too long."

"Your mom said we couldn't play," Mari said.

"I would want to try," Julia commented.

"Yeah if your dad were checking on us," Mari said before they looked at each other and nearly collapsed in laughter as they hugged each other at the same time. She managed to calm down and she then said, "I'll be right back."

Nodding Julia turned to her desk and sat down, trying to hurry without spilling her ink to get her pen ready. Once it was she turned her attention to her diary, hesitating for a moment to think about what she wanted in her entry before she started to write.

 _July 1_ _st_ _, 2020  
Happy Canada Day diary! (Eve told me about that, they went to Canada on today and it's like our 4_ _th_ _of July a little bit). But today was super busy so I need to start._

 _So like I told you before everyone's here and it was our first day all together. There were tons of us but that's 'cause there are a lot of families. But that was so much fun… until after lunch. I'm going to skip everything 'cause I don't think I have that long until my bedtime._

 _First, I have to say that I went on a walk with Mari but that was before lunch. I only say that 'cause these stupid boys knocked into her and pushed her over but she was okay. Why do boys do stuff like that? It was mean 'cause what if they hurt her. I hate… no I don't hate boys 'cause there are nice ones like Peter and Jake and Clive… everyone in my class that's a boy is nice (how can you not when you get to dance to music that's so much fun!)_

 _After lunch my mom and dad went on a walk with Auntie Lanie, Uncle Kevin and_ Tio _Javi and something happened so they got a case. I tried to ask what happened that they got it, but they didn't say. So I guess it's grown up for my ears and that makes me mad. But they're gonna work on it which I guess is a good thing 'cause it was at that house that's not too far from ours. Oh! Before I forget Mom and Dad called me over 'cause I had to give a_

Julia paused as she was trying to remember the word she wanted to use before it came to her and she went back to writing.

 _statement 'cause those boys could have helped out with the case. Well… they sorta did Mom and Dad told me but they're still working on the case. I hope they finish it super fast, we're gonna go to Florida and D.C. soon and I want them to not have to worry about work 'cause they don't have to worry about their book anymore._

 _And Mom told me that the next book is gonna be the proposal, they were gonna have it in this book, but they decided to wait just a little more. I asked Mom if they were gonna have them have kids too but still partners and she said that they were going to do what they did. I tried to ask her what the reason will be, but I don't think it's the same reason Mom and Dad brought us here. Just something about someone throwing them out for messing up a case- they don't know why yet- I just hope that if I ever go to Julliard I'll be okay there. I want to ask Mom but what if she doesn't want me to go there?_

Stopping so abruptly that she left a stray mark on the paper, Julia sighed heavily and shook her head before going back to her diary.

 _Anyway, while they were working Paul taught me, Lizzy and Mari (she's spending the night and right now taking a shower since we went swimming in the ocean and the pool_

Trying to press her pen back to the paper Julia paused and then kicked her legs back and forth a few times before she hit the wall behind her desk. "Ouch," she mumbled though it hadn't been hard enough to hurt. That brought her mind back to her diary again and she started another paragraph.

 _He taught us how to play on the piano a little bit and then played_ Martha My Dear _and_ Penny Lane _. It was so cool how good he sang with just the piano, but he said he did that when they were first starting with the songs at Abbey Road (and I went there!). Mom and Dad got back, we went swimming in the pool, had pizza for dinner by the pool (Paul, Nancy and Bea- like she told us we could call her- had vegan pizza so everyone was happy) and then we went down to the beach. Paul and Skye sang for us again, Skye sang_ Backwards Traveller _first 'cause Paul wanted to see how she would sing it and she was so cool doing that. After I asked for them to sing_ Broomstick _and they did and that was awesome too. We got to play the rest of the day and that was all. I have to really write this fast, Mom and Dad are here, and Mari finished her shower._

 _Gotta go to bed now but I'll try to write when I can!_

"Did you brush your teeth?" Castle asked when Julia turned to him and Beckett once she'd put her things away.

"Yeah, before Mari went in," Julia said, looking over at the door in time to see her friend was stepping out.

"Let me have your brush," Beckett said, reaching for the one that the girl was holding.

"Do we really have to go to bed right now?" Julia asked while she leaned against Castle as he sat on the edge of her bed too.

"As soon as I'm finished," Beckett said. She glanced at hers and Castle's oldest and said in amusement, "It's past nine."

Pretending to grumble Julia went to her mother and hugged her tightly as she'd finished with Mari's hair. Climbing up onto the bed she hugged her father as he sat next to her first before she said, "Night Dad, love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle said. "Have fun?"

"Yeah," Julia said hesitantly. She saw the same questioning expression on both her parents' faces, and she explained, "I missed you."

"We'll finish as soon as we can," Beckett said, unable to help feeling guilty.

"Don't worry," Julia said hurriedly, reaching for her mother. She hurriedly shared a kiss with her father and then hugged Beckett tightly as she sat with her telling her, "I know you need to help, it's really close to the house."

"It is," Beckett said. "But we're not going to be working for a while after this."

"Hopefully a long while if Skye can stay on the show until the end," Castle commented.

"I hope so too," Julia said before she turned to her mother. "I love you Mom."

"I love you Julia, sweet dreams okay?" Beckett asked her.

"I will," Julia said before she watched her parents say goodnight to Mari who'd been watching them. After they were gone, and the lights were off she whispered to her friend, "I had so much to write about."

"But you still wrote," Mari pointed out to her.

"I know, since it was so late I was really lucky about that," Julia said, giggling softly with her friend. "Think you'll ask Paul to sing a song on your own next time?"

"Well… I want him to play one, but he has to play it on the piano," Mari said a little shyly.

"Which one?" Julia asked eagerly as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

" _Your School_ ," Mari replied.

"Ooh, that's a good one and perfect for Skye to show him she can play," Julia said. She could see her friend turning to look at her and she couldn't help laugh saying, "I just thought of when he had her sing that song before. That and so he can take a break."

"Yeah," Mari said.

"Let's ask him after breakfast! Or before… whenever my parents can hear before they have to go work on the case," Julia said eagerly.

"But-" Mari started to say.

"Girls," Beckett said, walking into the room. "You need to get to sleep."

Sighing Julia said, "We had something really important to talk about."

"I heard," Beckett said as she pet Macca and JoJo at the end of the bed since the bed sheet on the girls was fine. "But worry about asking Paul to play tomorrow. Goodnight." She smiled when the two repeated that back to her and she left them as they laid still with their eyes closed. Hurrying down the hall she slipped into hers and Castle's room before she changed into her pajamas while he was doing the same.

Hearing his wife laugh suddenly after he'd finished in the bathroom Castle asked, "What is it love?"

"I just realized we forgot the pictures," Beckett said, shaking her head as her husband walked to the bed where she was already sitting, waiting for him.

"Wow that's… weird," Castle commented before he slipped under the bed sheet with her. He pressed his lips to her temple before he told her, "Are you going to remind her?"

"I think you mean Paul," Beckett said in amusement. "And I will but tomorrow morning."

"Oh, speaking of Julia, were they asleep?" Castle asked since his wife had had the feeling the two girls wouldn't go right to sleep.

"No, they were talking about requesting a song from Paul tomorrow morning," Beckett said before she related what she'd heard the two say.

"Good chance for Paul to hear her play the piano more," Castle said when she'd finished. "I have to wonder if she'll do that."

"She might be a little tired," Beckett said with a slight smile. She saw her husband's widened eyes and said, "I heard… one of them against the door."

"Doing what?" Castle asked with a slight frown.

"They can do whatever they like against the door," Beckett replied. "I texted her though, warned them the doors weren't soundproof."  
"Good idea," Castle said, trying not to think of what the women could be up to. He saw his wife was looking at him and he said, "I don't want to think of them, they're like family. Like sisters… which they were way back when."

Beckett rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you for not wanting to though."

Nodding to her as a way to say you're welcome, Castle paused when something else came to him and he said, "What about Erin?"

"She's still with Eliza and Maddy," Beckett said.

"Do you know why she did that instead of staying with Julia and Mari?" Castle asked her.

"No idea," Beckett said. "I guess she was letting them spend time together," she added. But they're asleep."

"Okay… we're joining them?" Castle asked his wife.

Giving a mock suffering sigh Beckett climbed onto his lap swiftly and told him, "We talked about this before," before they were grabbing one another and crushing their lips together. She was pleased he responded that quickly, since she was immediately pressing her tongue into his mouth before they worked together around each other to keep tasting one another for as long as they could.

"You're tired," Castle said, burying his face in his wife's neck once they had parted.

"I am but…" Beckett said as she ran her hand over the back of his head. She let out a soft moan at the way her husband's lips pressed against her neck and she had to carefully pull him away. She had been planning to speak but decided it didn't need to be done before they were leaning against one another and kissing again. They were sensuous that time, rolling their tongues together inside of her mouth that time, as she ran her hands up and down the back of his neck and head.

Groaning into his wife's mouth Castle reached for her hands, holding them by the wrists with one of his before they had to stop. "Kate," he breathed out huskily. He realized she seemed a little tense on him and he said, "Maybe we should stop."

"No, let me do this," Beckett told him easily before she got off him. She wasn't happy to do that but with the state he'd been in it'd been a necessity. Instead of staying away from him though she went to him and leaned against his side, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Tell me something Rick," she said while he held onto her.

"About us?" Castle asked. He felt her nod before leaning over slightly to press his lips against the top of her head. "There is one thing," he said before he felt her shifting slightly before he started his story by saying, "It was late January in 1919. We hadn't had our birthdays yet and I was still nineteen and you were still eighteen. I was wounded a week before the Armistice, so I had been convalescing in England before they shipped me home when I was well enough for that. I was in a hospital in San Francisco when the new nurse's assistant walked in to refresh mine and my roommate's water to my surprise."

* * *

 _"Aces again, you're a cheat Romero," Rick said jokingly to the man who was sitting next to his hospital bed. The man was set to leave the hospital the next day; as it had been long enough after the amputation of his left hand for him to go. "And lucky."_

 _"You're gonna get out of here soon McDonovan," Romero replied, his New York accent thick. "Ah, nurse with water," he said, seeing someone approaching the doorway._

 _"Perfect, could do with some of that French wine again," Rick said before he turned his attention fully to the woman who was walking up to them. There was something about her that seemed familiar and he took off his spectacles before he realized who it was. "Kate?" he said in amazement._

 _"Good afternoon," she said, smiling at her friend. "I've brought you some water and to let you know you'll need to have your bandage changed Mr. Romero."_

 _"I was ahead anyway," the man said, studying his roommate and the young woman. He went back onto his bed and watched her hand Rick a glass first before giving him the second, not startled when she walked to the man in the bed next to his._

 _"What are you doing here? Are you going to become a nurse?" Rick asked though she was dressed in a simple blouse and black skirt with an apron over it._

 _"Oh no, I've been helping since you left," Kate replied. "Just assisting the nurses with things like this. I didn't know you were here until today, I insisted I needed to bring you and Mr. Romero water."_

 _"I'm alright," Rick said, knowing what she meant. "What about the family?"_

 _"Junior's doing alright with the club, he says there'll be a boom now the War is over and we don't have to worry anymore," Kate told him with a smile._

 _"Wonderful… might need to get a job there," Rick said._

 _"I thought you wanted to join the police," Kate commented as one of the doctors came in and went to the other bed._

 _"Oh I do, but I can't stay with you, I'll get some money and get my own home," Rick told her._

 _"I spoke with your doctor and with Ma," Kate said. "You're going to be released soon and you can stay with us to recover." She then smiled and said, "Junior insists."_

 _Rick couldn't help laughing and said, "I wouldn't want to be too much trouble for your ma."_

 _"I'll be having my last day here tomorrow," Kate told him. "And you're going home the day after that, Rosie and I will help you."_

 _"Alright," Rick said. He watched as the doctor left the room, calling to Kate while he was leaving, and he said, "I'll see you later."_

 _"You will," she promised. Studying him for a moment Kate then leaned over and kissed his cheek saying, "_ We were so worried _," in Irish. "_ We were happy to know you were coming home _."_

 _"_ I'm happy to be home too _," Rick said with a nod, also speaking Irish. After she was gone he lay back closing his eyes before he heard his roommate clearing his throat next to him which made him turn his head to glance at him inquiringly._

 _"Is she your betrothed?" Romano asked._

 _"No, I grew up with her family like a brother," Rick replied. "After the earthquake, they took me in."_

 _"Then you're courting her," Romano stated. When the man in the other bed just looked at him he said, "The way you look at each other."_

 _"I've been gone for almost a year," Rick said. "She missed her friend." He did his best to ignore the indelicate snort coming from his roommate, thinking about when he would be able to go home to his family._

* * *

"I was in love with you then," Beckett pointed out when her husband slightly squeezed her arm.

"True, but how was I supposed to know?" Castle said with a smile. He turned and shared a brief kiss with his wife before he said, "But that's when I realized you were a woman."

"My blouse was tight?" Beckett asked. She smiled when he gave her a look and said seriously, "You're right though, it was a turning point." When he nodded she brushed her lips to his and said, "Another?"

"Okay," Castle said before he thought for a moment. "You were just leaving the bathroom in our room after you'd taken a bath, in 1927." He looked down at his wife when she cuddled a little closer to him and with a smile said, "I had a surprise for you."

* * *

 _"What's that?" Kate asked when her husband stood up from the end of the bed. She had quickly spotted that he had his hand behind his back and she playfully tried to reach for it before he stopped her._

 _"Close your eyes," Rick told her. At the look she gave him he said, "Just for a jiffy."_

 _Though she wanted to tease him about that Kate did as he asked before she felt him move in front of her. Finally, he told her to open them and she smiled when she saw the sweet peas in his hand. "They're beautiful," she said, taking the bouquet from him. Sniffing at their sweet fragrance she said, "Are we keeping them here."_

 _"I'd like to," Rick said, nodding to her nightstand._

 _Spotting the vase there, filled with water, Kate smiled and said, "You planned this."_

 _"I may have," Rick replied with a smile before they leaned into each other. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight before they were kissing, feeling only one of her arms around him. When they slowly parted he told her, "Mind if I peek under your robe?"_

 _"Fresh," Kate said but she was laughing softly. She left him then to go over to the vase where she set all the sweet peas but one. Turning around she wasn't surprised to find him with her and she reached up to brush the one she'd held on to against his cheek. "Are you sure?"_

 _"Of course," Rick breathed to her eagerly. He took the stem of flowers before he stepped back a little to watch her before she was pressing on his shoulder. Sitting on the edge of the bed he watched his wife grabbing the ties of her robe before she tugged it slightly and it fell apart letting him see her bare body. "Love," he groaned, reaching for her. He laid her down on the bed shortly after and was about to lean down to kiss her before she stopped him. "What's wrong?" he asked as he could tell there was at her touch._

 _Kate didn't say anything, merely reached for his hand to place it on her stomach, watching him closely as she pressed him down slightly._

 _Feeling her skin, Rick was a little startled to find it harder than he was used to it being and he said questioningly, "Kate?"_

 _With a smile, leaning up so she could kiss him, Kate pulled away so she could tell him, "We'll be having a little one join us Rick; maybe in the fall."_

 _Breathing out heavily he said, "Really?"_

 _"Really," Kate replied, seeing the way his smile lit up his face. He kissed her immediately after her response was uttered and she could feel his joy in that. She squeezed her arms a little tighter around him before she told him, "You don't mind?"_

 _"Why would I?" Rick asked, a little taken aback by her question._

 _"We've only been married for nearly five months," Kate explained._

 _"We're ready to go," Rick told her. When she rolled her eyes, he smiled and kissed her again but kept it swift before he pulled away and leaned down, tenderly kissing her stomach before he ran his hand around it._

 _"You'll notice me more as time goes on," Kate said softly, watching him._

 _Looking up at her Rick shook his head and said firmly, "I hope you'll be aces love… I don't know how this will all be for you." It suddenly hit him, and he breathed out, "I've never had much to do with babies Kate."_

 _"Yes you have, Julia?" she pointed out since he'd helped raise her along with her family._

 _"Yes but I only did so much," Rick replied with a sigh. "You'll have to teach me Kate."_

 _"I would love to," she said with a smile, watching him pressing his cheek to her stomach at that moment. Kate gently caressed his hair before she told him, "Come here Rick."_

 _"Gladly," he said in his eagerness before he helped her taking off her robe before he carefully slid into her, telling her he loved her just before they started making love._

* * *

"Funny that came to you now," Beckett said with a smile. She pulled away so she could look at her husband enough and asked, "You're not trying to start a conversation about-"

"Oh no," Castle said firmly. "It just came to me," he told her, not minding her incomplete question because he knew she was joking. "I'm happy with our girls."

"Rick-" Beckett started to say before he interrupted her again.

"Sorry," Castle said quickly. "I knew what you wanted," he explained. He kissed her before pulling away and telling her, "Let's go."

Beckett climbed off the bed first, feeling her husband grab her from behind to kiss her which made her smile as he was back at her neck. "Calm down love," she told him, turning around.

"I'm taking what I can get," Castle said honestly.

"I understand but we're checking on the-" Beckett started to say before she cut herself off that time at the sound of whimpering. She raced with her husband to the doorway and she hurried straight to Eliza who was somehow managing to carry Maddy. "What happened," she asked as she immediately took the toddler. Before the little girl could answer she gently turned back and forth, rubbing at Maddy's back. "Get Patrick and Trevor," she said to her husband.

"She said she was thirsty and she wanted you Mommy," Eliza said. She frowned and said, "How come?"

"I think because this is our house," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when Darnley, coming out of the room he and Nkosi were sharing, nearly raced to her and she explained what was wrong.

"I can get water too honey," Darnley said, taking his daughter. He kissed her temple and said to Beckett and Castle, "Sorry about that."

"It's alright," the latter said. "It makes sense since she knows this is our home. And we weren't asleep yet anyway."

"We were not either," Nkosi said, joining them.

"Head back to bed, I'll get her some water," Darnley told his husband as Keo was in their room with them.

When they were alone with their daughters; as Castle had gone back to their room after kissing Eliza on the cheek and saying goodnight to them; Beckett said to her friend, "This is interesting."

"Understandable, it's still rare we're around each other for this stuff," Darnley said. He looked at Eliza in a hurry and asked, "You're okay after carrying her right?"

"Yeah, she's not heavy," the little girl said, going to her mother and taking her hand. "Can we go too?"

Watching Beckett pick Eliza up Darnley asked, "She's not too heavy for you?"

"No," she replied simply. "Come on before she starts crying," Beckett told him firmly, nodding to Maddy who was tugging at his shirt collar. She followed him over to the stairs and as they were walking to kitchen at the bottom she said, "You'll go right to sleep sweetie."

"Don't wanna," Eliza said with a sigh.

"Not now," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "When you go back to bed. Erin wasn't awake?"

"Jules and Mari went to get her," Eliza said.

"Shouldn't they be tired?" Darnley asked as he was helping Maddy drink some water.

"Of course, but you need to know now Patrick that kids will definitely do this," Beckett told him with a smile.

"Oh I knew, just thought that with the beach…" Darnley said. He set the glass aside and said, "Let's go."

Going back up the stairs Beckett was relieved to see her husband at the top and she told him in Irish quickly what their middle daughter had said.

" _Not a surprise_ ," Castle responded in the same language. " _We're still checking on them_?"

" _Of course_ ," Beckett replied with a nod. " _Come on_."

Castle tried his best to kiss the back of Eliza's head, as the little girl was nearly limp in her mother's arms, and then walked a little behind Beckett to their daughter's room. After Maddy was placed on the bed he watched his wife set Eliza down next to her before covering them lightly. Once they were set he took Beckett's hand and they went together over to Julia's room where all three girls were on the bed.

Relieved when they were asleep Beckett squeezed her husband's hand and was surprised to see her friend outside the room.

"Just wanted to say goodnight," Darnley said with a smile. "And hopefully she won't need water again."

"Probably not," Beckett said, hugging Darnley tightly. "Night." After Castle had said the same to him they went together to Josie's room, watching their baby for a little before they left.

"Okay," Castle said once they were in their room and he'd closed the door. "So everyone's settled- well, Skye and Mary are probably doing… things."

"Oh no, not things," Beckett said in mock horror. When her husband stopped and looked at her she said in mock annoyance, "You showed me that episode of MST3K."

"I did, awesome you remember it," Castle said, taking off his slippers and getting on the bed before she did. He watched her standing at her side and said, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about what you told me," Beckett said.

"The first or second story?" Castle asked her.

"The second, I told you in early May," Beckett explained before she got on the bed.

"You did, it was your first and you were young too," Castle said. He shifted a little on the mattress and said, "I think you were a little irregular in your period then too."

Nodding as she was only half listening to him Beckett said, "You wanted it."

"I was the same back then," Castle told her. "I had no family but yours; I kind of wanted my own."

"With me," Beckett commented.

"Did I mention you were gorgeous then too?" Castle asked with one eyebrow slightly raised.

Shaking her head and smiling Beckett leaned over, kissing his cheek before he suddenly turned his head. Though she was startled she only took a moment to recover before she was holding onto her husband tightly and responding. When his hand suddenly slipped under her pajama top she jerked against him and pulled away saying, "Too much."

"Not apologizing," Castle said before he took her lips in a more sensuous kiss. That didn't last long, and he was soon sharing rapid, multiple kisses with her until they had to stop. Smiling he said, "I love you Kate."

Letting him kiss her yet again Beckett cupped his cheek with her hand when they stopped and said, "I love you too Rick. But for now…"

"In a little bit," Castle said before he was suddenly laying her on the bed to her startled cry and he was kissing her hard on the lips. He was slightly concerned that she was going to stop him but when her leg wrapped around him he nearly smiled though he focused his attention on her as she was drawing his tongue into her mouth.

Though they were both a bit fatigued after everything that had occurred that day, Castle and Beckett found they couldn't help indulging in a round of passionate kissing that lasted much longer than they realized since they never checked the time. When they stopped they made themselves sleep, not wanting to stop but knowing they needed to. They were pressed close to one another, not wanting to lose the proximity they'd just had as they could still feel the other in each gratifying throb of their heavily swollen lips.


	10. Moment I Had Always Feared

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: There's a love scene between two women in this chapter, not heavily detailed but more than I've had before in my series, so I just wanted to warn those who wouldn't want to read that. If anyone wants to skip it, it's a flashback so it's in italic text around the beginning of the chapter.

A/N #2: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _Your School_ by Paul McCartney and a lyric from the song _Jet_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album _Band on the Run_.

A/N #3: Loved getting the feedback for the last chapter that I did so I'll go straight into my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I was of course happy that you thought the last chapter was very good writing all around. And I'm really pleased you like how Paul fits into the family since I did that want that to work!),

MsNYC (I wasn't surprised that you were laughing at Julia asking that question and then Castle asking Beckett what he'd told her, lol. I also wasn't surprised that you mentioned Castle and Beckett having a conversation as though Julia wasn't there, lol. I'm so happy that you think Castle and Beckett's stolen moments are so precious. You're welcome for those and there'll be more since I enjoy writing those, lol. I'm not surprised that you think Skye and Mary are a lot like Castle and Beckett with being touchy feely, lol. I'm glad that you think it's just so cute too. And I'm not surprised Beckett's minor distract made you laugh or call it a smooth move, lol. Nice to see you laughed too at Mary making Skye blush. Really happy you thought Julia's diary entry was cute. No surprised that you were happy with the flashbacks, lol, and there being two of them. I'm glad that you think, since Castle and Beckett need to just touch and kiss, that they're just too cute together since I do like writing them that way. Pleased to read you thought it was great writing as usual!),

Mb (I'm so, so happy you thought the last chapter was a sweet, sweet update. And I'm glad too you absolutely love and adore the family times since I love writing them. And I agree with what you said about happy and fun time with friends and family is one of the best times, and something you'll cherish and remember. You're right, the moments will shape you and make you and that's important for the girls of course since as you said it's them caring, loving and know what true friends and family are. So I'm glad you think it's a gift showing that Castle and Beckett have and give to their kids, family and friends they hold dear that have the same qualities and values. You're welcome for the first half! And of course, I'm happy that you thought the second half was such a sweet update. Really pleased you love how Paul has taken to the new friends there. And how he and his family feel free and without worry about their friendship being used as you said. It's funny, the family moments between their work on the cases is me wishing the show itself could have done that just a bit more and realizing I had the space for it while an hour-long show did not. I'm so happy that you feel those give the stories a richer and more realistic feel. I was glad that you were happy for the flashbacks that were in the last chapter, I had fun writing those. And I'm happy you love the past life ones as well as the ones that put in missing scenes from the present time. Great you're still catching up and you seem like you're speeding through if you've made it to Beneath This Mask now, lol. And to answer your question I mention a bit about Castle and Brad being friends along with Beckett and Lily and if I mentioned it, it was just barely that they lost contact after college so they didn't know they were together and the two were married. That's a flashback I need to do but it hasn't found the right spot yet, but I will put it in. You're welcome for sharing the second happy. Happy 4th of July to you as well and I'll try and stay cool, we're supposed to be getting triple digits so I'll need to! But hope you'll keep cool yourself!) and

vetgirlmx (Very pleased you thought the last chapter was really good and really fun as well. I was happy to read you loved the flashbacks and thought they were very sweet. And yeah, lol, there were two since I felt the second one could go in there too, lol. I wasn't surprised that you find it's hard to remember they have a case with chapters like the last one, lol, I like to use them as a pause on cases so I get a break in writing, lol. But glad you thought it felt like a vacation since I was trying to convey it still is for them. Really nice that you enjoyed the singing on the beach, I wasn't surprised you felt it was bohemian or that you kind of wanted to be there too. I had to laugh at you saying that with so many of them at the pool the splash fight and kid throwing must have been epic, and probably, lol, that many kids. And you're right, doing that much they'd sleep well that night. It made me smile to see that you were sad the day was over but then thought going back to the case wasn't all that bad. Though not surprised you said the sooner they go back to investigating the sooner they solve it and go back to that vacation. I laughed again at you mentioning the conspiracy they had to look into, lol, but not surprised you're eager for them to do that. And really glad you can't wait and now you don't need to!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them all and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Moment I Had Always Feared

"Alright, it's the big moment," Paul said as he watched Beckett walking into the living room where everyone was gathered.

"Don't make her nervous," Skye commented with a reassuring smile to her friend.

"I'm not," Beckett told them firmly, glancing down quickly at Julia before she opened the envelope and lifted the flap off it to take out the fairly thick stack of photographs. She couldn't help testing the sturdy weight; as it let her admire the quality of the paper; before she studied her first shot.

"Very nice," Paul said as he saw that it was of him talking to Skye and Mary; since that was how Beckett had framed the shot. "How's the black and white version?"

Handing it over to him she said, "Are you going to use one like that for the cover."

Shaking his head Paul said, "Skye had the thought of using the black and white for some of the liner photos. This one can of course go there."

"Alright, here's the second," Beckett said with a smile, handing him the two photos she'd taken when they'd started. Both were of Barry and Raj set up near each other and playing the first song the group had performed.

"Oh good, you got their pictures for when we O'Dells are introduced," Skye said with a smile. "I'll have to get a copy of this somehow."

"I'll get one to send to you," Beckett said.

"Were you waiting for them to look at each other?" Castle asked his wife as he was studying the pictures himself then with Julia leaning against his legs.

"I was, I didn't want to point out outright that they're married but…" Beckett said to Skye.

Mary spoke before her wife did and she said, "That can be easily found out of course. And they'll love the picture."

"You two'll love this one," Paul said to the women.

Laughing Skye said, "Forgot we'd shared the mic love."

"Love this one too," Mary said with a nod.

"You look like Paul and George singing backup," Julia said suddenly.

"If we'd been birds," the singer said with a slight laugh. He took the picture that Beckett handed him next and said, "Stop the presses." When everyone was looking at him he laughed slightly and said, "Always wanted to say that. But we have our album cover."

Beckett wasn't surprised when Skye and Mary rushed to him to see it and she took another look at it. She'd thought it was a mistake, but Paul had told her to leave everything, so she was glad he'd said it. It was of the singer and Skye, walking away from each other with the band walking around behind them. The investigator had ended up slightly blurred though she could still be seen, Paul was fully visible and somehow their guitars were as well. The rest of the band were fully blurred, and she glanced at Skye's wife, wondering what she would think.

"I love it," Mary said with a smile. "If we ever get an album though we're all visible Kate."

"What you want me to take that picture already?" Beckett said in surprise though she couldn't help smiling herself.

"That would be quite nice," Skye said before she handed the picture to Julia. "What do you think Macca fan? Would you want to get this album seeing this for its cover?"

Beckett turned to her oldest, watching her closely to see her reaction to it though she kept her face straight. She shared a look with her husband before Julia was telling them finally, hoping her daughter had ended up enjoying the shot.

"It looks cool," the girl said, still looking down. Julia then smiled up at her mother and said, "Especially 'cause you didn't make them pose or anything."

"Thank you, but would you want the album?" Beckett said.

"Yeah, 'cause I want to know who these people are all around Paul," Julia commented. She turned her head and said wryly, "Ghosts."

Laughing with the others as Castle playfully tickled their daughter Beckett said to Paul, "Thank you."

"Thank you," the singer was quick to say. "Quite nice pictures and I imagine we don't really have time to look them all over?"

"Not really," Beckett said, glancing at her watch. "No, we should head over to the stables."

"Alright," Paul said before he watched Beckett set the pictures on a table against the wall. "Are we all going?"

"Yeah," Eliza replied.

"Tell him," Julia said to Mari, watching her friend.

"Tell who what?" Brennan asked as he'd been able to hear that.

"Um, Paul?" Mari said since her friend had taken her hand and pulled her over to him. "Do you think you can play a song?"

"Sure," the singer said. "Before we go?"

"We have time," Castle said as he was aware of what time it was already. "You kids are lucky we ate breakfast so early. What's the song?"

" _Your School_?" Mari said hesitantly.

"Oh… you know I think I'm a bit tired to play that, but I could sing it," Paul commented.

"You realize you can just ask me," Skye said in mock annoyance before she made her way to the piano. She played a few slower chords and then said, "You're on your own, right?"

Paul appeared to be thoughtful for a moment before he said, "I suppose so. Whenever you're ready."

Nodding, Skye turned to the keys and played the intro before Paul; who had walked over to her to stand next to her; began to sing.

 _We're gonna talk it out some day  
All that is nearest and dearest  
I want it, you want it, they want it too  
And me, I wanna love you_

 _Come on baby, what have you got  
Tell me that I learned a lot in your school  
Your school  
Never thought I'd learn so much  
Just a poor fool in love  
Your school  
I never felt the gentle touch until I met you_

 _You'd better tell me all you know  
Concerning this situation  
I'd like it, you'd like it, they always do  
Me, still wanna love you_

 _Come on baby, what have you got  
Tell me that I learned a lot in your school  
Your school  
Never thought I'd learn so much  
Just a poor fool in love  
Your school  
I never felt the gentle touch until I met you_

 _You'd better tell me all you know  
Concerning this situation  
I'd like it, you'd like it, they always do  
Me, still wanna love you_

"Oh, that's a bit somber to head out on," Skye said once the others had applauded their performance. She started to play more jaunty music and sang, " _With the wind in your hair of a thousand laces, climb on the back and we'll go for a ride in the sky_ …"

"Let's go," Beckett said, hurrying over and playfully hitting the other keys randomly to get her to stop.

"You didn't enjoy that?" Skye asked once they'd stopped laughing together; along with everyone else.

"Not really," Beckett replied. "I prefer the original. And if you want to ride you'll leave the piano."

"Watch me go," Skye said jokingly as she stood and walked away to leave. She and her wife were going to the stables with all three of their children and while the rest of her family was outside the house she waited before she saw Beckett walking over to her. "Just you?" she asked jokingly.

"They're right behind me," she answered simply. Beckett smiled and then said, " _Will you be able to ride_?" speaking in Russian.

" _Why… yes_ ," Skye started to say in confusion before she realized what her friend was talking about. She had finished in slight embarrassment and said, " _Thank you for the hint_." She smiled when Beckett smirked at her before she walked out of the house, looking at her wife as she couldn't help remembering the night before and the time they'd spent together.

* * *

 _"Anything wrong?" Mary asked, looking at her wife's reflection in the mirror as she was looking at her phone._

 _"No, I thought Doug called me but it was a wrong number," Skye replied, shaking her head. "Which I'm glad about," she said quickly as her wife turned around to look at her. "I'm not working for a while Mary, you know that."_

 _"I feel like I have to remind you," the woman said._

 _Rolling her eyes Skye said, "I want this vacation, who knows how it'll be in September." She sighed and then leaned against the door, since she was closer to that, before telling her wife as she walked up to her, "Am I crazy for agreeing to this?"_

 _"No," Mary said simply._

 _"You sound so confident, you know how I am," Skye said in amusement._

 _"And that's why I'm confident," Mary replied. She took another step closer to her wife and said, "We'll enjoy it."_

 _"We will," Skye replied. She sighed as she tried to take a step forward and couldn't move, leading her to say, "Are you going to let me go by or am I stuck?"_

 _"For the moment," Mary said simply before she grabbed her wife's arms and pushed her against the door hard though she hadn't meant to. She kissed her passionately at first before Skye was suddenly stopping her making her ask, "What's wrong?"_

 _"It's my phone," the investigator said, taking it out of her pocket. "It's a text… from Kate," she said before she began to laugh._

 _"What?" Mary said, trying to look at the screen of her phone._

 _"She said the doors aren't soundproof," Skye told her._

 _"So what, the rooms… oh," Mary said, realizing that Beckett had meant that in the context of hitting the door. "I guess we should head inside more."  
"Yes," Skye said simply, taking her wife's hand and pulling her over to the bed in the room. She was startled when Mary took her hands and she said, "Am I reading you wrong?"_

 _"No," Mary said firmly. She then reached for her wife's blouse and pulled it off her before Skye was walking away from her. At first, she thought she was going to leave her to go into the bathroom but was pleased when she sat on the side of the bed to toe off her shoes. "Mind if I grab something?" she asked._

 _"Not at all," Skye said with a smile. She looked on while her wife went to where their suitcases were inside the closet, seeing what she was pulling out. "You want to use that?" she asked._

 _"Yes, really," Mary said firmly. "Ready?" When Skye nodded she tossed over the small book in her hands. She was about to tell her what page she had in mind when her wife was standing up and walking over to her, to her surprise as she immediately handed her the book once she'd reached her._

 _"Get the page ready, I'll get something else," Skye explained. She glanced at her wife when she realized she wasn't moving and said, "Surprising?"_

 _"I half expected you to pick something," Mary said. "What are you getting?"_

 _Skye was smiling widely, and she quickly reached for the item in her own suitcase, showing it to her wife. "Do you want yours?" she asked as she had grabbed her vibrator quickly._

 _"We can share," the woman said simply before she went over to the bed since she couldn't grab her wife's hand. She sat on the edge and then opened the book, flipping through it rapidly before she held it out for Skye to see._

 _"That's a relatively tame one," the investigator said, smiling when she took in the position of the two women in the picture. "I'm glad I grabbed this," Skye said, nodding to the vibrator._

 _"Me too," Mary said before she stood up again. She set everything in her hands down and then reached for her wife, pulling her over after her so they could finally get onto the bed. Once she was laying back she reached for Skye slightly above her to kiss her. They started out a bit hesitantly before she passed her tongue over her wife's lower lip in a quick swoop. When they stopped and were looking at one another again she murmured, "Do we really have to drag this out?"_

 _Without a word Skye got up on her knees and waited for Mary to do the same before she reached for the straps of her sundress. They were both wearing their bathing suits still so she was a little frustrated at the straps of her bikini. But she hurriedly ushered her wife over to the side of the bed to get the dress down to the floor and out of the way._

 _Hearing her wife's hiss Mary said, "You know I really hope you'll take it easy." When Skye looked at her questioningly she explained, "I only have one bikini."_

 _"Good thing you warned me," the investigator replied. "Now please turn around."_

 _When she heard the desperation in her wife's voice Mary did what she'd asked and felt the way Skye's fingers were scrambling at the ties of the straps of the top. She took it off rapidly before her wife was turning her back and she said, "Are you just going to stare?" since she was doing that._

 _"I'm really tempted," Skye admitted while she was reaching for the bottoms of her bikini. She let her wife help her before Mary was naked and while she was climbing on the bed she undressed. "Just going to lay there then?" she asked once she was bare herself._

 _"To better see you," Mary replied before she started to laugh as her wife nearly jumped onto her. As soon as she was settled she raised her head enough to kiss her quickly and then laid flat saying, "We have to sit up."_

 _"I'm not moving around," Skye said though she couldn't help laughing shortly at the beginning._

 _"I can't help it," Mary said gently._

 _Helping her wife up Skye studied her closely and then said, "What do you think?"_

 _Leaning over Mary pressed her forehead against her wife's and murmured, "I think you're gorgeous… I want you Rose."_

 _Skye's lips nearly automatically captured her wife's, taking them hungrily before they were fighting against one another a little noisily. She wasn't sure how exactly they stopped but finally her wife was touching her body and she breathed out hard when her right hand was very gentle on her breast. "My knees are uncomfortable like this," she told her._

 _"Then we should move," Mary replied with a smile. She moved so she could stretch out her legs, a little startled by the moan that left Skye's mouth in reaction to that. Glancing up at her she was looking in time to see her wife cover her hand to keep it in place and she said with a smile in French, "_ Greedy _."_

 _"_ Just for you _Mary," Skye replied in the same language. She shook herself from the pleasure of feeling her wife as she was and stretched her legs out in front of her, so they could scoot closer together. They placed their left feet flat on the bed to trap them in slightly and she said, "My vibrator."_

 _"We'll grab it after," Mary said, cutting off anything her wife might say with a tender kiss. "Hmm, now the question is closer or manually?"_

 _"Manually," Skye said wryly. "You know how I like being closer to you."_

 _"Of course," Mary said since they both enjoyed that kind of love making when one of them was laying down. "Now," she said before she almost swooped down to her chest, taking Skye's left nipple and sucking at it eagerly, running her thumb over her wife's other breast. She was crying out heavily when suddenly her wife's long, tapered fingers were at her clit, rubbing gently and she looked up at her almost questioningly._

 _"I want to start," Skye said. "And I should warn you we might finish this with you on your back."_

 _Mary knew she could tease her wife but decided it wasn't necessary, especially since Skye was leaning over to take her breasts. "Oh! You didn't even let me finish with you!" she cried out in joy as the investigator was meticulous doing what she loved to be done to her mounds._

 _Skye didn't say a word as she was too busy kissing around her wife's chest, going quickly before slowing down and then moving away as slow. Blowing gentle puffs of air here and there she said with a smile, "You said do that later, let's finally start."_

 _"I agree," Mary said with a soft laugh before her wife sat up. They came together at the same time for a kiss, but they were also reaching for one another and gasping into each other's mouths while their fingers seemed to touch their clits simultaneously. She moaned her wife's name; since they couldn't really stay together; and slid her fingers around the swollen nub underneath them. They worked together quickly; as they tended to do when they delayed as they had; and she suddenly stopped when things were too much to handle._

 _Before her wife could speak Skye was helping her lay down gently before she got on top of her, straddling her right thigh while her own left thigh was in between Mary's legs. They didn't have to say a word, thrusting against one another eagerly as they cried out and moaned together with their pleasure already running high through them both. Usually they would go equally with one another when they were in that position but she couldn't resist lunging her left leg enough so it was rubbing against her wife's sex and clit hard. When Mary's response was to almost bounce on the bed she was crying out at the same time, both orgasming concurrently and not stopping until she was clutching at the sheet while she tried not to collapse to the bed._

 _"Rose?" Mary eventually asked._

 _"Yeah?" Skye breathed out, feeling her sex throb once at how her wife had said her name. When Mary raised her head she was there to meet her and they kissed again while she felt her wife's hands on her back and ass. They parted from each other before she got off her and she reached for the book on the bed while Mary followed her. "How much longer do I get?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at her wife who was stroking her hair._

 _"We," Mary said easily with a smile. She watched her turn to her and said, "And with that we should get started."_

 _Handing Mary the book and the position she'd selected, Skye took the opportunity to lay her down before she was kissing over her body. When her wife tried pulling her up to her she was aware that Mary was fine with the position, so she got up quickly to her before they were kissing hungrily. They touched one another expertly at the same time so they could begin making love once more as their arousal for one another became even hotter than it already was._

* * *

The thud of hooves on the ground was extremely satisfying and Beckett couldn't help the laugh that slipped out of her mouth. She knew her husband was probably looking at her, but she didn't stop looking forward as they had to turn slightly at the corner of the field where they'd gone to ride. They were at their stables but because they didn't know when Brad would call them in she and Castle had gone to the field to gallop there just in case. They'd gone around the entire space twice before she gave a short whistle and they slowed down Alex and Julius at the same time. Looking at him she was about to tell him they should probably head back when he asked her a question that took her by surprise as she thought he'd would mention it before their ride together.

"Why didn't you want to ride that like before this?" Castle said. "You were okay to before."

Shrugging Beckett said, "I just wanted to make sure that I would be okay." She smiled and said, "We need to go back."

"I figured," Castle said before he realized she was looking past his shoulder. Turning his head towards the gate he saw that Skye was riding into the field and he called, "If you want to ride around we're just about to leave."

"I thought to ask to ride with you Kate," the investigator said.

"Sounds fun… Fleur?" Beckett asked since the girl was riding a pony.

"It's not her first time on a horse and she's alright with me coming over here," Skye replied. She glanced behind them and said with a smile, "Also they're coming over to watch."

"I'll be with them," Castle commented when his wife looked at him. He took Julius out of the field and got down from the stallion, saying to the girls who were walking up to him, "Tired of the horses?"

"No," Julia said firmly since she would be riding with her parents and Paul once they finished.

"I'm not surprised," Castle said before he turned with them to the field as Beckett and Skye were already starting to ride, wondering how long they would be going around.

Her head down close to Alex's neck Beckett glanced quickly on their second pass by their families and friends before she spotted everyone from the city. She was surprised they were there but didn't question it as they were going around one more time. Slowing down their horses near where they'd started she said to Skye, "Were we racing?"

"No," the investigator said laughingly. "We were very close. Are we still going on the path?"

Beckett didn't answer, instead setting Alex on a trot over to her husband though she didn't leave the field as there were a lot of people around him. "Anything from Brad?" she called to him.

Shaking his head Castle said, "He did send a message that they're still trying to get information from the group."

"Warrant?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, he's talking to Judge Whitby," Castle told his wife.

"Alright," Beckett said. "We're going to go but you guys need to let us out." She tried not to smile as their friends from the city were swift to move and she distracted herself by letting Alex out, making him walk to where her husband was. "Mind taking him?" she asked.

Castle shook his head but handed Julius' reins to Julia before he went over to his wife, helping her down. He wanted to kiss her but because they were surrounded by so many people he satisfied himself momentarily with just holding her close. "Who's going to go with us?" he said quickly to distract himself once he'd let her go.

Surprised when only Skye and Paul indicated they would go with her, Julia and Castle, Beckett said, "That's it?"

"I'm staying here," Darnley said firmly.

"We're going to ride in this field for a bit," Clara said, indicating herself and Brennan.

"I think the rest of us are just going to walk around," Lanie said.

"You don't want to ride?" Beckett asked her friend with a smile.

"I'll pass but… your horse really is beautiful," Lanie replied, reaching over to Alex.

"Thank you," Beckett said. "Want to hold onto him," she said.

Stepping back when the horse shook his head Lanie said, "That's alright… what about Castle?"

"Go love or we'll just be starting when Brad gets in touch with us," Castle told his wife.

With a quick smile at him Beckett took Julia's hand and pulled her over to the stable where Lottie was. "Ready?" she asked her daughter.

"Yep," the girl said eagerly before she was walking fast to go up to the horse who was sticking its head out of the stall. Julia took Lottie's head with her hands and gently ran her fingers over her forehead saying, "I missed you girl, we're just gonna walk today so it's for exercise."

"Better get inside Emma's stall sweetie," Beckett said, standing at the mare's stall her daughter was going to use while her mare was still pregnant. "We need to go." She followed Julia into the stall and grabbed the saddle blanket for her daughter, watching her while she threw it carefully over the back of the horse.

"I wish I was a little taller," Julia told her mother.

"You're tall enough now," Beckett replied with a smile as she had managed to get the blanket over the horse's back though she had to push it a bit. "Watch out sweetie," she then said as she was bringing over the saddle. She set it on Emma's back and watched Julia close the girth before she stopped her and said, "You can go a little tighter sweetie."

Sighing Julia did it over again and then looked at her mother who quickly tested it, at her nod she smiled and said, "I'm getting better at that."

"You are," Beckett said before she allowed her oldest to grab the bridle and reins to place them on Emma herself. "Perfect," she told her with a smile. "Take her outside and get on her."

"Will we go by everyone?" Julia asked after she had a hold of the mare and was taking her outside of the stable.

"They're here," Beckett said with a smile. She led Julia out until they were at the mounting stone in the yard, watching her daughter closely as she climbed up onto Emma. "Great job," she said before she went to where her husband was holding onto Alex still. She climbed on quickly before Castle did the same with Julius and they waved to their family; since the others had moved to a corral where there was a new pony; and they rode to join Skye and Paul.

"I'll ride with Julia," the singer said once they were all together at the start of the path.

"Mind trailing us love?" Beckett asked her husband.

Shaking his head Castle watched as his wife and Skye started to ride ahead of Julia and Paul, the sight of the latter two making him smile. He had to wonder if there was a reason for the man wanting to when he became startled when Paul told Julia at that moment.

"I hope you don't mind riding with an old, old man Julia," the singer was saying.

With a wide smile Julia shook her head and said, "I feel lucky."

"Even though I'm not singing?" Paul asked.

"You already did," Julia said. "This is just as cool."

"It is," Paul said with a slight laugh. "But I wanted to ride with you because I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure," Julia said, wondering what that would be.

"You enjoy writing correct?" Paul asked.

"Yeah," Julia said shyly.

"Do you enjoy taking pictures as well?" Paul said.

"Oh yes… I like to be like my mom like that," Julia replied.

"Perfect, I want to write a children's book with photographs instead of illustrations," Paul answered. "Should I do so, would you take pictures based on what I've written."

"Of course," Julia breathed out happily. "You don't want my mom to do that?" she then said in surprise.

"Not exactly," Paul said. "I want her to be the band's photographer… when she can," he said, adding the last in slight amusement when the little girl looked slightly perplexed. "You know what I just recalled? I forgot to ask her to do that. You know I'm going to have Skye's band with me on my next album, right?"

"I had to know 'cause I wrote the lines," Julia said with a soft laugh. She then gasped as she realized something and said, "You're gonna let her photograph you again?"

"Not exactly," Paul said before he saw that Beckett and Skye were slowing down their horses ahead of them.

"It's the stream," Julia explained to him, remembering the last time he'd been at the stables was just to see Alex and Julius. "We stop here and let them drink."

"Good to know," Paul said before he climbed down from his horse. He helped Julia and then watched her wrap her arms around Emma's neck. "You love horses," he said.

"Oh yes, they're so pretty and gentle…" Julia said, her cheek pressed against Emma's neck.

"And that's why I want you to take pictures," Paul said, looking over at Beckett as she walked over to them. "Were you able to hear me or should I go over this again?"

"We all heard," Castle commented before his wife could.

Laughing Paul nodded and said, "Not a surprise, but what do you think?"

"Are you sure you trust me that much?" Beckett asked. "Because I've never really taken posed photographs like I'm sure you're thinking of."

"I do trust you," Paul said firmly. "The pictures you've taken were very good and I want to see what you can do modeling all of us."

"She said she's quite keen to do that with me," Skye called back from the water though she soon took the horses back to them so she could switch with Paul and Julia.

"She has a way of standing that's… sophisticated," Beckett said with a smile at her friend. "And mysterious."

"That'd be my eyes," Skye said jokingly.

Beckett shook her head before she turned to the singer and said, "You're sure you want Julia to take pictures for the book?"

"Of course… Julia?" Paul then said.

"Yeah?" the girl said in surprise.

"Do you know how to use Photoshop?" Paul asked.

"You want me to do that?" Julia said in surprise.

Paul frowned slightly before he turned to Castle and Beckett and said, "I want the edges to have some kind of effect, different kinds that would apply to the text on the page."

"We can help her with that," Castle said, nodding. "Again, it would depend on the words."

"I knew you'd all understand," Paul replied before he walked to the stream with Julius.

Watching as the other three had left them alone Castle quickly looked at his wife and asked, "Well?"

"I'm not too surprised," Beckett said. "He was looking at my photographs very intently and I thought an offer like this might come up."

"What if you could be a professional?" Castle asked. He frowned and said, "I meant more professional."

"How am I professional now?" Beckett asked as she was frowning herself.

"I think you are," Castle said.

Beckett rolled her eyes and then wrapped her arms around him tightly before she said, "You don't really need to kiss my ass," keeping her voice low.

"I want to," Castle said, speaking at the same volume. He smiled when she fought a smile and he couldn't help it, kissing her pursed lips. They then easily slipped into an intense kiss and they clutched at each other tightly until they finally slowed down and parted, pressing their foreheads together.

"Are they often like that?" Paul said as the three of them by the water had seen them but quickly looked away.

"Ask her, she lives with them," Skye said in amusement.

"They are, we don't care 'cause Lizzy and I don't want them to get divorced," Julia quickly explained.

"I have my doubts they would do that," Paul commented with a slight smile. He turned to look at the couple and then said, "We'd best go."

"We can't gallop Mom?" Julia asked as she went back to her parents since she had Lottie.

"We can, we'll just go off in two minute intervals," Beckett said after seeing Paul and Skye nodding their heads.

"I'll go with her," the investigator said, nodding to Julia. "First so we'll be waiting for you."

"I'll go last, I don't mind," Castle said in amusement when his wife looked at him. He helped Julia onto her horse and then held onto Alex for his wife before she leaned over. He shared a quick kiss with her before they watched Skye leave with Julia. He was about to ask Paul something when his wife beat him to it, not minding that since it directly involved her.

"You wouldn't want to test me first?" Beckett asked. She glanced at her husband and seeing he didn't seem to be surprised she asked, "Were you thinking the same?"

"Yeah, also that you want to try something out," Castle replied with a smile.

"I would," Beckett said before looking at the singer.

"What did you have in mind to do?" Paul asked.

"Have Skye pose in the living room leaning against one of the chairs in there… no, the piano," Beckett said thoughtfully. "Dressed up, let's hope she has trousers and a blouse."

"I'd like to see that," Paul commented.

"Me too, you should take a picture of Mary too," Castle said.

"Maybe both," Beckett said with a smile. "We'll see you back at the stables love," she said to her husband as Paul was on his horse. She nudged her heels into Alex's sides and they were soon taking off down the path. Since they were going so fast they couldn't talk but when they were nearing the stables she made a motion to the singer and they began to slow down at the same time.

"That's quite a ride," Paul said with a smile to her.

"It is," Beckett agreed. "I'm glad Rick found this place."

"And Louis will be working here soon," Paul added.

"He will," Beckett said with a nod. "Though we do know the owners," she said with a smile, knowing he was joking about having a connection with someone there.

"How does he feel about the young lad?" Paul said.

Beckett was surprised at the question and she said, "He's fine, don't ask him because we've all talked to him about that. I think he's tired of the questioning."

Nodding Paul said, "Good to know because I nearly asked him." He pulled the reins to come to a complete stop and then got off the saddle. "Might want to talk to Skye about your plan."

"I was going to," Beckett said with a smile before she went over to the investigator who was talking with Julia. "Hey, how was the rest of your ride?" she asked.

"Good, Skye was telling me about where she rides at home. Her home," Julia quickly explained. "Can we go there?"

"If we have time," Beckett said. "You'll have school too along with watching her practice."

"Cool," Julia said. "Can I go see Mari?" she asked, looking over at where her friend was with her grandparents.

"After you take care of Emma," Beckett said firmly, knowing her daughter was aware of that already. She then looked at her friend and said, "There's something I wanted to ask you."

"Take a picture of me?" Skye asked with a grin.

"Yes," Beckett said. She then quickly told her what she had thought of, trying to figure out what her reaction would be as she studied the expression on her friend's face.

"Alright, I actually do have trousers and a blouse I can wear," Skye replied with a nod once Beckett had finished. "You'll have Mary join me, right?"

"You can take the picture by yourself _grá_ ," the woman said with a smile as she walked over to them.

"I wanted to include you as well… maybe a shot or two of you by yourself," Beckett said. "It'll have to wait though."

"Sounds good to me," Skye said. "I'll take my horse," she said abruptly, grabbing her wife's hand with her free one.

Watching them go Julia said, "It's nice when you're married isn't it?"

"If you want company yes," Castle said as he'd been there but had remained quiet.

"Should we go?" Beckett asked.

"I haven't heard a thing," Castle said. "So you can help Julia."

Handing him Alex's reins Beckett walked with Julia first into the stables where their horses were kept and into Emma's stall. "Did you and Skye talk about anything else?"

"She said she's gonna take us to the apples that they go to," Julia replied.

"Really?" Castle asked interestedly.

"Yeah, she said it's called Oak Glen," Julia answered. "And there are two places to go but the one that's higher up has restaurants and a petting zoo too."

"Did she ever see pictures of Apple Canyon here?" Castle asked his wife.

"I showed her through e-mail," Beckett said with a nod while and Julia was brushing Emma. "We think someone came from here and went there as they're similar though the architecture is different, and she said you can't really go past the restaurants and shops into the trees. Or else she never did with Mary and their kids; she wants to try with us."

"That'll be interesting to see," Castle said.

Feeding Emma a carrot Julia then wrapped her arms around the horse's neck, hugging it a little while she heard the crunch of the vegetable. She couldn't help giggle and then walked in front of her to take her head in her hands. "Thank you for the best ride Emma, at least we did get to go gallop," she told her. She smiled widely as the horse whickered and then kissed her nose before she went to the door since they were finished.

When the two stepped out Castle was startled at the way Julia took off out of the stable once she was away from the other horses and he turned to his wife questioningly.

"She wanted to go over to Mari," Beckett said. "Which I'm not surprised about."

"How long do you think Mari's going to stay in her home?" Castle asked as his wife took Alex into his stall.

"I know," Beckett said with a soft laugh since their family was going to have the Darnley-Nkosis, McCartneys, McColloughs and Jenny with her sons at the pool for what would likely be most of the day. "I'm going to miss being with them now," she added while she was working on rubbing down Alex.

"Me too but… hey we have time before we leave for Florida to spend time at the pool," Castle said. He smiled when his wife told him he was right before he was quiet and then said, "I'm impatient to go."

"So am I but we'll get there soon enough," Beckett replied, finishing with Alex by then. She fed him a carrot and then walked over to Julius' stall telling him, "We'll be able to spend time with Josie then too."

"Definitely," Castle said, smiling at her as he fed his stallion his carrot. He reached over and squeezed her hand before they walked together to the sink to wash their hands. "Okay, so we're in agreement, right?" he asked when he had dried off his hands.

"Yes, we'll spend a little time with them here and then go," Beckett told him in amusement. She gasped slightly when he grabbed her, pulling her up against him and kissing her passionately. It took her a bit longer than she wanted to respond to, but she was able to while she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Come on," Ryan said, pulling on the sleeve of his partner's shirt when they saw the couple inside the building together. "Do you really want to interrupt them?" he asked.

"Good point," Esposito said.

"Are they snogging in there?" Skye asked, walking up to them. When the two men nodded she whistled, trying not to smile at the way the two jumped in surprise. Once Castle and Beckett walked out she said, "No word yet?"

"Nothing," the former said first with a nod. "But we wanted to spend a little time with the kids before we head over to the station anyways."

"Great but… spend time with them here?" Esposito asked.

"Sorry," Beckett said. "They love it here and we're going to be gone for about two weeks soon so…"

Esposito merely nodded, not sure what he could say in response as he watched the couple go over to their youngest. "Not like it used to be," he muttered to his partner.

"Yeah…" Ryan said, simply nodding his head as he knew that his partner had been feeling a strange sense of nostalgia working with the couple again.

"Are you gonna go soon?" Julia was asking her mother as she went over to her.

"I think so," Beckett said. "Why don't we head over to the benches though?" When Julia nodded her head rapidly she smiled and said, "Get your sisters to come with us too." With the girl going off over to Eliza she went with Castle to the small sort of garden with some benches and tables that the wife of the owner had set up before they sat together on a bench to wait for the rest of their daughters to join them.

"What are we doing tonight?" Castle asked his wife as he smiled at Josie cradled in her arms.

"I'm not sure…" Beckett replied. "We'll have to ask everyone else what they'd like to do." She then smiled at him when he glanced up to her and told him, "I would like it being just our family, but again we need to see what everyone else wants to do."

"What if we have everyone from the city over?" Castle asked.

"Ask them," Beckett said. "But not yet," she added in a rush as she saw the rest of their daughters were coming over.

"Do you think we'll have much time here?" Alexis asked her father and stepmother.

"Not really," Castle said. "But this'll be nice for now." He looked at the girls and said to his oldest, "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"Louis and I are going to go out," Alexis said simply.

"Are you gonna go to your new house?" Eliza asked.

"Not yet," Alexis answered with a smile. She reached for her little sister and wrapped her arm around her saying, "We're not going to move in until after our vacation remember?" She then looked at her dad and stepmother and asked, "Which families are going?"

"Brennan and his and Skye and hers," Beckett answered. "Plus, the Fosters and Davises. And Darnley and his but not until we get to DC of course."

"Are we going to constantly be going on vacation with several families now?" Alexis asked, smiling as she didn't want to sound as if she was annoyed at the prospect.

"I don't think so," Beckett said. "Lily was talking about them going on their own vacation next year."

"David too," Castle added with a nod. "I guess we should take a break."

"What?" Julia asked when she saw that Eliza was looking at her.

"Mari will go with her family," the little girl replied.

"I know," Julia said. "I'll miss her, but we'll go somewhere right?"

"Of course," Beckett said. "But don't ask where exactly because we haven't thought of that," she added.

"Can we suggest something?" Julia asked.

"We'll think of something, don't worry," Castle assured her. He then took Josie from his wife and said to his oldest, "Are you going to the pool with them?"

"I am," Alexis replied. "Do you want me to take her in?"

"Like we did yesterday," Beckett told her. She was about to tell her stepdaughter to let Josie's grandparents take her as well when her text alert sounded on her phone. She took it out of her pocket and told her husband, "He's ready for us."

"Alright," Castle said, looking at the girls. He then turned his attention to Josie and nuzzled her cheek with his nose before he said, "We'll try and be back as soon as we can sweetheart. Please be good for everyone while we're gone."

"I'm sure she will be," Beckett said, smiling as she watched him kiss their youngest on the forehead. She took Josie and then said, "But we'll miss you."

"She's right we will," Castle said with a smile, leaning over to kiss the side of the baby's head.

"We'll give you a bath tonight, just the two of us," Beckett said, glancing over at Eliza when she began to groan in disappointment. She saw that Julia had grabbed her little sister's arm tightly before she said, "The next time you can help us."

"Sorry," Eliza said.

After kissing Josie's forehead and murmuring she loved her; letting Castle do the same; Beckett handed the baby to Alexis and took both girls into her arms saying, "Like your dad said we're going to get back as soon as we can."

"Will you swim with us?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Let's wait and see how things go," Castle said, hugging the girls after his wife had kissed them.

"Will you call us before you come back?" Alexis asked when they got up at that point, her father kissing the tops of the girls' heads.

"Text you," Beckett said with a nod. "We'll have to go right away so please listen to the adults," she said with a smile.

"We will," Julia said.

They had started walking back to the others while they were speaking and when they got close to them Beckett called out to the boys, Skye and Darnley, "We need to go."

After Ryan, Skye and Darnley said goodbye to their families they left with Castle, Beckett and Esposito in two cars to return to the station. As soon as they were inside the parking lot in the back they saw that Hutchinson was waving to them from to door to the building.


	11. Moment I Had Always Feared (Part 2)

"What is it?" Castle asked.

"Chief told me to let you know he had you come back without really having a reason," the officer said. "He was on the last five names from the group and wanted your help."

"Okay," Beckett said first.

Castle nodded and then said, "So he didn't find anything from the how many other members?"

"No I didn't," Brad said, walking over to them since they were walking into the bull pen. "I needed a break," he explained, holding up the mug in his hand.

"How long have you been here?" Castle asked his friend in surprise.

"It's almost ten so… about two and a half hours," Brad answered, leading them over to his office.

"How's Lily?" Beckett asked.

"Not happy but… she's remembering I have vacation," Brad said with a smile at her. When he was behind his desk he said, "Yeah, there were fifty names remember."

"I thought there were sixty," Esposito said in surprise.

"Five of them are out on vacation, we looked at that first thing," Brad explained. "And of course, they have the most solid alibis. So that leaves us Cappe, Franks, Berg, Mata and Jardine."

"Are we dividing those?" Skye asked.

"I can take the first two," Brad said. "Ryan, Esposito I'd appreciate-"

"We can take the rest," the latter interrupted him.

"Are you sure?" Brad said, holding out the sheet of paper he had the names written down on.

"Yeah, we've done it before," Esposito said with a shrug.

"So where does that leave us?" Castle asked Beckett, Skye and Darnley.

"Tea?" the latter asked them. "I could do with a cuppa."

"She's right, it won't take us that long," Brad said, looking at his computer.

"So I guess they had the chance to come and work," Beckett commented to her husband once they were in the breakroom with Skye.

"They're used to doing that," Castle pointed out to her.

"I think after yesterday Esposito would like to be more helpful," the investigator commented.

"True," Beckett said, watching her husband get two mugs ready to make some tea in. She looked at her friend and then said, "Wait, Patrick," just as he walked in.

"Sorry, I asked him about Ashby and she was released this morning," Darnley said.

"Wait, they kept her overnight?" Skye asked in surprise.

"She had an asthma attack according to the hospital," Darnley replied. "But she's fine now."

"Well… I guess we should be glad about that," Castle commented. "Are we suspicious of her still?"

"Brad is," Darnley said.

Beckett was about to agree with the chief when her husband gave her one of the mugs while he had his tea ready in the other mug as well. She took a few sips of the liquid before Skye was asking her and Castle about the local group, wondering why that particular question hadn't been asked of them sooner.

"There haven't been any incidents at all with this… league?" Skye said.

"A few incidents but nothing that would be on record here," Castle answered. "Things like intimidation… there was that time about the library."

"They were going to get rid of it?" Darnley asked in surprise.

"They weren't," Beckett said with a sigh. "But some… prank phone caller told them and when members of the group went to the library to start a protest they saw trucks there from a construction company. They started to become out of control and the police were called but when it was explained that they were just retouching the place to make sure it was up to code everyone calmed down."

"Then it's not hard to believe they wouldn't snap about this house," Darnley said.

"It never was the prettiest house," Castle commented.

"I'm really surprised to hear you say that," Beckett said, studying her husband.

"It needed a fresh coat of paint, not destroying," Castle said quickly. "But Soverall wasn't from here so he didn't know about the league so… this CABAL-"

"That's more CFBMJ," Beckett interrupted him to correct him.

"Cabal is better," Castle said.

"Then don't talk about it in all caps," Beckett said wryly. "But you're right, if any of these five had any type of cabal then they waited for construction to stop. They were delayed a little because they needed to be sure work would stop."

"But why not just get settled in before the destruction," Skye said.

"She's right, I'm sure it didn't take one day to demolish the place. As large as it is," Darnley added. When the couple just looked at him he said in surprise, "You're kidding."

"We're not," Castle said. "We were in the city but David was there, talked to the… to Ralston or someone from his company and they'd been ordered to make sure it came down within the day."

"So he knew about them," Beckett said to her husband.

"And in revenge they killed Langston," Castle said. "They can always rebuild the house as it used to look with the original beams still there. Just get Soverall to have to relinquish the property to them-"

"And they can start rebuilding," Beckett said. She pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "It's a good story but that's a hard one to prove."

"Hopefully someone out there gets something on one of those guys," Darnley said.

"There's a flaw though," Skye said. "The group has been careful," she said, looking directly at Beckett.

Sighing she said to her husband and told him, "She's right. If they do everything by the book…"

"Then they wouldn't resort to murder," Castle groaned.

"Let me play devil's advocate…" Darnley began.

"I should never have taught you that phrase," Beckett said jokingly since he was looking at her as well.

"I knew it already," Darnley said in mock annoyance. "What I'm trying to say is have there been other situations like this?"

"There was, a gothic manor in Southampton that was torn down to rebuild it with more modern architecture," Castle answered.

"He hates the way it looks now," Beckett said to Darnley's questioning look at her husband's tone. "They protested and tried to get the property back but nothing," she added. She glanced outside the office and said, "They have something," seeing the boys running from their desk. She and the others followed and they waited for Brad to speak first as he was holding a piece of paper up to them.

"Jardine," the chief told them.

"And Berg," Esposito said.

"Okay so, Jordan Jardine," Brad said. "Has been a member of the league for ten years. He was at that protest for the library and was actually handcuffed by Bernier."

"Did you ask him about it?" Beckett asked, knowing the officer was out on patrol.

"I did, he doesn't really remember much about the people since he put a few of them in cuffs," Brad answered. "I'm assuming Berg was there," he said to the boys.

Nodding Ryan said, "So were the other three of the five you found."

"Okay so that's not really going to get us anywhere," Brad said. "But Jardine is from the city, he has a summer home here and he knew the victim."

"How?" the others all said at the same time.

"They worked at the same law firm," Brad replied. "And I was able to call said firm and they told me that Jardine is on vacation; likely here since this is the only place they go. The vic was someone he literally fought with for cases though it was instigated by Jardine. The higher ups in the firm give out the cases to who they think will do better. But the Robinson case late last year went to Langston and Jardine was heard to threaten him; Langston even filed a report with HR." He let everyone in the room take that in before he said to the boys, "Go ahead with Berg; I'd like to hear what you found from him."

"Yeah, Henrich Berg," Esposito began. "He lives here and as far as we know he doesn't know the vic… exactly."

"He dated Ashby," Ryan said simply at the perplexed expressions.

"Was that all you could find out?" Castle asked the two.

"It was, but we did find a number of a friend of Berg's," Ryan said, handing the paper he was holding to the chief. "Though we can't really call him."

"Could have," Brad said, taking it. "And then handed it over to me. Excuse me," he told the others before he went to his desk.  
"What're you thinking?" Skye asked, glancing at Beckett.

"I'd like to go back to the house," she answered.

"Hidden passageway?" Castle asked.

Giving her husband a look Beckett then said, "I think it's more I want to see the beams."

"The breakup was amicable," Brad called then, hanging up.

"So just Jardine?" Darnley asked.

"Oh no, we still have to talk to him," Brad replied. "And Beckett's right, we need to go to the house. Right now."

* * *

"Turn it off!" Beckett yelled as Brad opened the door to where the wrecking ball operator was.

"Who the hell are you?" the man said brusquely. "This is a construction site!"

"Hamptons PD," Brad said, withdrawing his gun. "Turn it off now." At the frown from the man he got his badge and nearly shoved it into the man's face before saying what he had before again.

"Look, I was hired with the company I'm working for to knock down the house," the man replied seriously.

"Who hired you?" Brad asked, motioning for the man to get out.

"Some guy named… South? Suede? I don't know the exact name," the man replied, stepping down from the machine. "It was just something with an s."

"Soverall?" Beckett asked.

"I think," the man replied.

"Call your boss," Brad said. "If he's not here. And then drive this out of here. This house is a crime scene and will not be demolished today."

Watching with him as the construction worker rushed off to his truck Beckett commented, "Green."

"I saw when we pulled up," Brad said. He breathed out in a huff and said, "I better call in and see how the hell Soverall got this set up."

"What about Berg and Jardine?" Beckett said.

"They're going into the station right now, they let me know about this," Brad said as he hadn't told her that yet.

Nodding Beckett asked, "Can I head inside?" When the chief simply told her to wear gloves she pulled them on and then walked through the gaping entrance since there was no front door. She was about to head up the stairs there in the entry when she paused as she'd heard her name being called behind her.

"Hey, just realized the two of us hadn't really been in here," Skye said. "Okay, I lied but I seriously haven't been inside here. Also, I'm curious as to why you wanted to come back."

"So am I," Castle said, walking over to them.

"The boys?" Beckett asked.

"Brad asked them to talk to the others working for the company," Castle explained.

With a nod Beckett then told them, "I realized something we'd talked about. How you could get that machete through the door."

"Yeah, brute strength," Castle said while following the two women up the stairs. He gasped and said, "Are you agreeing with me about the Hulk?"

Since she was at the top of the stairs Beckett turned to face her husband and gave him a simple look before she said, "No, but what if they had some help?"

"Oh, that's quite difficult though," Skye commented. "But… I suppose if the wound didn't mess up if they had to move the machete around then yes it could be they had it planned."

"Does it really narrow anything down though?" Castle asked as they came to the room where the vic had been.

"No but I just want to see the door," Beckett said simply before she stepped up to it. Since she had gloves she touched above where the vic's head had been resting and said, "Damn."

"Wait," Castle said as he'd been watching her. He took his phone from his pocket and then started to turn it on before she was stopping him. "What?"

"It wouldn't do any good," Skye replied. "If there was a slit cut in or something you would have found it immediately. Likely the machete would have split the wood. It was a good theory," she told Beckett. "Because doing that is quite insane already, planning it even more so."

"Yeah," Beckett said with a slight smile. She then looked at her husband and saw he was looking at the slight hole that had been left by the machete. "What is it Castle?" she asked him.

"This isn't oak," he replied, shaking his head. "It's pine, softer."

"We never asked anyone about who picked the doors," Beckett said, looking at Skye.

"No," the investigator replied. "If it's Soverall then what does that mean?"

"We'd better tell Brad," Castle commented.

The three left the house, going to the boys since Brad was nowhere to be seen, explaining to them what they had found.

"Did you check the rest of the doors?" Ryan said in confusion.

"Yes, because I was looking at the door across the hall since Langston was still hung up on the one we were just looking at," Castle explained. "But I'm going to tell Brad to have CSU test all the doors since I can't really do that."

"Why not?" Esposito asked.

"He wouldn't want me to," Castle answered, nodding to the chief who was walking back to them, jogging at the wave he'd given to his friend to indicate they had something to tell him.

"What is it?" Brad said.

"It's the doors," Castle began before he, Beckett and Skye told him about what they'd seen upstairs.

"Alright, CSU can take care of this with Wade here," Brad said.

"Who ordered this?" Esposito asked. "The men we talked to all said that they had no clue who it was."

"I do, it was the league," Brad said.

"Wait, they were going to destroy-" Castle began, startled.

"No, the wrecking ball was a mistake," the chief said. "When I went to talk to the foreman three men and a woman ran up to us, screaming for them to stop. They were going to have them just dismantle down to the boards."

"Did they buy the place?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"Yes, from Soverall," Brad said. He held up his hand before anyone could say anything and told them, "Whether or not it's legal the courts need to decide but for now they are the legitimate owners. But since this is a crime scene luckily I can keep things as they are for now."

"So they seem less likely," Castle said. "They had to have realized this would keep them from taking the house if they orchestrated it."

"They knew," Brad said, nodding his head. "I asked and they confirmed that. They want to get it rebuilt as quickly as possible and they will assist us but of course they're stating that Berg and Jardine aren't involved in this."

"Not even personally?" Beckett asked.

"They deflected the question," Brad said. "But we'll still speak to them." He looked behind him and said, "There's Wade, I'll talk to him and then we'll go back."

"What do you think?" Castle said, turning to his wife.

"I think we might be in some trouble," Skye said. "Oh, I'm sorry should I have not answered?"

"No that's okay," Beckett said. "And she's right. We don't have anyone besides Berg and Jardine. Though I think we should take a closer look at Soverall's ex."

"Didn't she have an alibi?" Esposito questioned.

"Of course, but she had someone here," Castle said. "That could easily kill Langston."

"Then that's it?" Ryan asked. "He's going to arrest Ashby?"

"No," Brad said as he was rejoining them. "I'm going to talk to the two and see what I can find, then go from there. Otherwise I will need to arrest her."

* * *

The man sitting at the table looked up at the three walking into the room and he asked, "Did they really get the house?"

"They?" Beckett asked.

"Well… I guess us since I am part of the group. But really, did they get the house?" Berg asked earnestly.

"Yes," Brad said, sharing a look with Castle and Beckett. He let them sit down behind the table and said, "I was told by the officer that brought you in that you're aware of why you're here."

"Yeah, my ex was found in the house with her boyfriend," Berg said. "He was killed. How I don't know but… yeah." He then said to them agitatedly, "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Castle said. "For the most part."

"You're not going to arrest her, are you?" Berg asked worriedly.

"We're not exactly sure," Brad answered. "Unless we find something that proves she; the only one in the house with him; wasn't the killer."

"I know her, it's not," Berg said earnestly. "She hates the sight of blood… her father cut his leg when he was chopping wood and they had to sedate her."

Looking at her husband; since that went with what had happened when they'd first seen Ashby; Beckett said, "Then you should tell us what you know about her boyfriend Langston." She was surprised when the man ground his teeth together but waited to see what exactly he would say.

"I don't know anything about him other than that they were dating right now," Berg replied. "And I wouldn't have killed him, she dated another guy before him so I wouldn't have waited if I had even wanted to."

"When was the last time you spoke with Ms. Ashby?" Brad asked him.

"Not for a year," Berg said. "I met her at a café in the city and we had some coffee." He saw the three were looking at him questioningly and then sighed telling them, "I begged her to go out with me again but she… wasn't really receptive. She was trying to save her relationship she was in before Langston at that time. And that was it. I didn't even know she was out here in the Hamptons." He looked a little hopeful and asked, "Do you know where she is here?"

"I'm afraid we don't," Brad said, touching Castle's shoulder to let him know he was going to end the interview with one more question. "There is another thing we need to ask you. Where were you between twelve to one yesterday afternoon."

"At home; my summer home," Berg said quickly. "I was talking with the head of the league, John Twiss about the house though I had no idea we'd be able to buy it."

"Alight, we'll check your alibi out," Brad said as Castle and Beckett then stood up.

"Are you going to arrest me?" Berg asked.

"That remains to be seen," Brad said. Beckett had just left the room and his friend was about to do the same when his hand shot out to grab Castle's shirt as Berg was calling to them. "What is it?" he said, turning to the man.

"I almost forgot," the man replied as Beckett closed the door behind her. "The house was foreclosed on before Soverall got it. There was an auction and I was there with the group to bid on it. We couldn't get it and of course we were upset but the original owner was just… livid. So much that he was escorted away by security since the auction house didn't want to call the police."

"Thank you for that," Brad said simply and with a nod before he left with Castle and Beckett. "Okay, I can't believe it didn't come to me but he has a good point."

"Who's the original owner?" Esposito asked as he, Ryan, Darnley and Skye left observation to join them.

"Gabe Norling," the chief, Castle and Beckett said together.

"Is he an eccentric in town?" Darnley asked.

"No, he's flashy," Castle commented. "And he used to have parties before we moved here."

"The town council spoke to him because he was having parties into the night when the houses all around him were occupied by families and they were constantly complaining," Brad added. "And he agreed to stop if they allowed him until one on Saturdays which they did."

"Anything since then?" Skye asked.

"No, but he did declare bankruptcy about a year ago," Castle commented.

"Which is why the house was foreclosed on," Ryan said.

Nodding Beckett added, "If that was all he had left then I can imagine he'd fight for his home."

"Which I will look into right now," Brad told them. When he saw the others were looking at him he told them, "Head out to lunch, it's past twelve so you need to take a break."

"Want us to bring you something?" Beckett asked him.

"I have leftovers from dinner," Brad said as he shook his head. "I get anything I'll call you."

After they'd said goodbye to the chief Castle and Beckett led the way to the café down the street from the station. Once inside Beckett let her husband order for them before she and Skye went to get a table for them.

"Are we talking about the case or trying to distract ourselves?" the investigator asked once they were at the table.

"Talk about whatever you want," Beckett replied. "But you don't mind my taking pictures of you?"

"No but you mentioned wanting everyone from the city around," Skye replied.

"Rick asked the boys and Esposito is fine staying with us," Beckett said. "But Ryan mentioned Jenny wanting to go out with just their family since they went all together last night. I need to ask Lanie and Dylan to see what they want but even if they stay with us you and your family can stay too."

"Great," Skye said. "Because the girls mentioned they wanted to stick around the water."

Beckett laughed softly before she saw Esposito was walking over to them and she said, "What's wrong?" at the expression on his face.

"That past life," the detective replied. "Any reason why the Mexican had to be the bad guy? And Lanie?"

"You guys weren't you back then Javi," Castle said, coming over with Ryan and Darnley since they'd all ordered by then. "Especially Lanie."

"I guess," Esposito said. "But I can see why you two were sisters."

Watching his wife rolling her eyes Castle said, "You two are close."

Beckett shook her head before she said, "So how are you two enjoying investigating out here?"

"It's different," Esposito said first.

"Yeah… it's not weird to you?" Ryan asked Beckett.

Shaking her head, she told them, "I've done it out here before. And getting to know Brad helped make it more… comfortable for lack of a better word."

"You're lucky," Esposito said to Castle.

"We both are," Beckett quickly corrected before her husband could respond to that. "Since we didn't know the mayor before David that well."

Ryan then asked, "And the girls are okay with you still investigating?"

"We made sure they were," Castle said first.

"And we have a strict condition of we need to approve of investigating the case," Beckett said. She was startled when the two men looked at each other and then started to laugh. "I'm glad it's amusing," she told them.

"Sorry, but have you ever turned down a case?" Ryan asked.

"No," Castle replied. "But now that we have Josie that doesn't mean we wouldn't."

"He's right," Beckett said when she saw that Esposito looked doubtful. "When we started working more with the PD Eliza was over two years old. So now we'll be a little more discerning."

"And you should remember murders don't happen that often," Castle added. "We stopped working back in February to prepare for Josie's birth and there hasn't been a case until now."

"And you don't miss the amount of cases?" Esposito asked.

Beckett shook her head, remembering what Ryan had mentioned to her and Castle before, not saying anything as their numbers were being called. When the men had left them, she looked over at Skye and said, "He'd like us to go back to the city someday."

"Oh sure, I knew," the investigator replied simply.

"I'm not surprised you did," Beckett said.

" _It's odd he would think that_ ," Skye said, switching to Russian. " _The risk to your children for one. Also, the fact that you seem to be quite settled in here_."

Beckett could only nod to that before she smiled at her husband who was reaching the table first. Once they were all sitting around it they ate quietly at first before Ryan was asking them about the party on the holiday and if there would be any additional guests.

"What I'm more interested in," Esposito commented. "Is you going to this Harry Potter land that's at Universal Studios." He looked thoughtful for a moment before he added, "And Disney World."

"I don't mind that Espo," Beckett said wryly. She then smiled and told him, "It's fun to go with the girls, to see their reactions."

"That's one lovely thing about having children," Skye commented. "The wonder they'll have at nearly everything they see. Especially the Harry Potter section."

"And you don't mind that stuff?" Esposito said.

"No," Beckett said. "It's actually fun. And the Orlando parks are supposed to be a couple of the best."

"Alright, but if you get those robe things-" Esposito started to say before he stopped when the couple started to laugh together slightly.

"He wants us to get those," Beckett said, nodding to her husband.

"Will you?" Ryan asked with a smile.

"Definitely, especially her," Castle said. He laughed when his wife playfully pushed him aside and then said, "You said you would."

"I will but don't tell the girls," Beckett said. When he looked away she said, "You did?"

"I couldn't help it," Castle said hurriedly. "Julia was asking if we could make sure you had them, and I promised them we would."

"So, I think you're set with that," Ryan commented with a smile.

"I guess," Beckett said, giving a mock annoyed sigh. She smiled at her husband and said, "I don't mind, the girls will want to be as immersive as possible."

"Take pictures," Esposito tried to murmur.

"I can hear you," Beckett said in mock irritation, throwing a chip from the bag she was eating from at him. "But we likely will."

"What about Josie?" Ryan asked.

"They don't have anything for her yet," Castle said. "She's too little; plus she didn't get sorted." He thought of something and asked, "What about you?"

"What about me?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"Have you read any of the books to Tommy yet?" Beckett said, knowing what her husband was thinking.

"We did," Ryan said. "And he's very much into it."

"He's only-" Esposito started to say.

"No, he's old enough I would imagine," Skye interrupted him. "Does he understand the houses?"

"We explained it to him a little more and I know what you're going to ask and yes we sorted him… and the rest of us," Ryan then told them.

"And? We told you about all of us," Castle commented.

"That's because it was easy to say you're all in that one house except for Martha," Darnley commented before he smiled.

"He's right but Jenny and I ended up in that house with the badger…?" Ryan started to say.

"Hufflepuff," Castle, Beckett and Skye all said at the same time.

"You read the books and you don't remember?" the latter said in surprise.

"He likes the idea of the houses but that doesn't mean I'm going to remember every name," Ryan said. "The only one I remember is the one the main character is in."

"There are only four," Beckett said. "But yours isn't a surprise. What about Tommy?"

"Gryffindor which he was ecstatic about since Harry is his favorite character," Ryan replied. "And we didn't do that with Danny of course, but Jenny wants to get Tommy some things themed from the house for Christmas."

"Good idea," Castle said. He then looked at the investigator who smiled at them and he said, "Fleur."

"She'd be with your son," Skye commented, looking over at Ryan.

"Gryffindor?" Ryan asked.

"Interesting," Beckett said. She then said to the boys, "One of their daughters is Ravenclaw, another Slytherin and now their youngest that house."

"Too bad no one's in Hufflepuff," Ryan said.

"What about you?" Esposito asked.

"We sorted Maddy," Darnley replied. "And myself and Trev. We're all Gryffindor."

"That doesn't surprise me," Beckett commented with a smile.

"Or me," Skye added before she then heard a text alert coming from Castle's phone.

"It's Brad," the man said after he read the text he got. "He's got something, and we need to go see." Castle then added, as they cleaned up, "Luckily he had his lunch already."

* * *

Driving down the street Brad said, "It's Norling. He really was that upset missing out on the chance to get his house back," glancing at the phone that Beckett was holding up since they were also talking with the four in the car behind them. "And I found out that he has a collection of swords."

"But swords are-" Darnley started to say on the other end.

"And machetes," Brad interrupted. "They were confiscated when he declared bankruptcy but according to his financials he was able to buy some of them back not too long ago."

"So that's why only I'm going in out of the six of us?" Beckett asked.

"True but also I can use you two for backup outside the house," Brad said.

"We're fine with it," Esposito said.

"We're here," Darnley replied. "Hang up and we'll meet outside."

"Why does he have another house?" Castle asked.

"Same reason he's buying back the machetes, he has money again," Brad said shortly before they parked and got out. "He's not supposed to have guns," he said to everyone once they were at the trunk of his car. "But I'm not risking it especially with you guys so vests on."

"Stay with Patrick," Beckett told her husband once they were suited up and the other officers were ready to go too.

"I will," Castle said. " _Cúramach_ ," he added hurriedly, which was the word careful.

Beckett smiled briefly at him and then went with Brad, Hutchinson and Bernier; though the latter two were trailing behind her. Before they were all the way in front of the house a woman was running out to them, screaming for them and making them run over to her.

"My brother," the woman said when they were close enough to hear. "Please, he's been threatening me… please," she sobbed.

"Take her," Brad told Bernier. "Where is he?"

"The back," the woman managed to say.

Brad started to run over to the fence that was open from the woman and he stopped against the side, peering in. Not seeing anything he looked at Beckett who was across from him on the gate and nodded before she covered him as he went in. "Mr. Norling," he said, seeing the man, holding a machete as he was pacing. "Put down the machete sir, we're only here to talk to you."

Beckett, as she'd managed to get to the other side of the man as Bernier was to his left across from her, saw that she'd somehow gotten Norling's attention. The man growled at her and when he started to run in her direction; the machete above his head; she was close to pulling the trigger when Norling collapsed, groaning in pain as blood bloomed on his shoulder. Looking at Brad, she saw the last wisp of smoke coming out of the chief's gun before she ran with him and Hutchinson to the man while they both called for an ambulance.


	12. Got Through, Before We Knew It

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Great to read the feedback I received, and I'll start on my thank yous for that right now. TORONTOSUN (I was happy to see you thought it was a very good chapter for Skye and Mary. And really nice to see that you like that Paul wants Julia to take pictures. It was great that you liked how intense the second half was, since I wanted it to be),

MsNYC (It was great that you were glad Paul chose the cover, also that you could visualize the description of it as I did my best to make sure I could do that! And I wasn't surprised that you thought Beckett is silly asking Skye if she would be able to ride. Also wasn't that you laughed thinking about the last chapter when Beckett heard them against the door. I was so, so happy that you thought the flashback with Skye and Mary wasn't that bad and tastefully written since of course that was my aim! Oh, and I'm not surprised you appreciated that. I had a feeling you might think that bit about Beckett saying kissing her ass and Castle's response being hilarious. And not surprised you mentioned Beckett was going to roll her eyes saying the twins comment or agreeing to his Hulk theory. No surprise that you think the door is the best evidence. Or that you mentioned them closer to cracking the case and having fun with their extended family. I laughed at you saying the boys are definitely missing their 'parents' at the precinct. Not surprised you were glad that Beckett didn't have to shoot the guy at the end since she didn't need that type of stress at the moment. Though you're right Brad would be in one. Happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),

Mb (Happy to read you thought it was a very nice update and that you loved them going to the stables to ride. Though yeah, lol, those that aren't used to horses will stay a little bit back since they can be intimidating if you're not used to them or around them as you said. Really happy that you think it's good Paul wants Beckett to photograph them more for the album and then wants Julia to do so for the kids' book. And I'm glad you thought it was good that Paul understands that Beckett's passion and job are her family and writing, as well as investigating with Castle before anything else. I wasn't surprised you think Esposito seems to be having the hardest time accepting that Castle and Beckett are content and happy with the way their life is now and that they love it. You make a good point, they're not desperate to return to the city which they were forced to leave. And I'm really happy you said that what they have now is everything they've always wanted. I was pleased you understand that while the group vacations are fun sometimes you want to be in a smaller group. Great you thought it was sweet. And you're welcome for the first half! I was happy you thought the second half was a nice update showing them working together trying to go through all their suspects and a possible motive. I was really pleased you loved how Esposito was perplexed about the Harry Potter stuff with the robes, sortings and houses. And I've actually thought about it; since I've thought of Ryan and Jenny's 'sorting,' lol; and I think Esposito would be a toss up between Gryffindor and Slytherin because he's brave, but he can be cunning. Though in the end I would say he'd be a Gryffindor more. And not surprised you mentioned him wondering about how in the past life he, Lanie and Ryan were so different. I also wasn't surprised you were wondering what set off the original owner of the house since he was irrational and hostile. Or that you mentioned that Brad took appropriate action to protect Beckett, himself and the others too. No surprise you mentioned that something is weird going on with the case, or that the twists and turns bring more questions, lol. Great you thought it was fantastic. And you're welcome for the second half!),

Guest (I was so happy to see you thought the scene with Skye and Mary was hot, since I wasn't all that sure of the response I'd get for it. So of course it was great that you thought it was nice to see their more intimate moments. And as for the ones you suggested there might be one in the future, I'll see. Really happy you think it's a good story. And I'm pleased you enjoy the mix of family time and murder mystery since I love writing that myself) and

vetgirlmx (I had to laugh at your comment on the conspiracy not being an option any longer, lol, but you're right, they have a viable suspect now. I'm glad that in the end you thought it was a very fun chapter. I'm not surprised that you were that they all went to the stables. Though you are right that it would have been impossible to follow the conversations if they had, lol. And yeah, better with just a few at a time. Great you think it'll be amazing if Julia can take photos for that book. And I agree, sharing credit with Paul for that book would definitely top having written a kids' book, lol. And not surprised that you weren't at the fact that Paul wants Beckett to be the band's photographer since she's done the album cover already. I'm really happy that you think that cover seems really cool! I'm not surprised that you don't know if the new suspect will be the right one, or that you can't wait to find out and now you don't need to anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I enjoyed reading all of them greatly and appreciate the time taken to write it out and send it my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a slightly modified lyric from the song _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Got Through, Before We Knew It

"According to the EMTs he should be okay," Brad said as he walked back to his consultants who were standing together on the porch. "It was a through and through shot."

"Thank you for not managing to hit my wife," Castle commented.

Frowning the chief said, "I know better than that. Come on. Skye; you too."

A little startled, the investigator glanced at Castle and Beckett but she was quick to follow the couple inside the home. "Any reason why I'm tagging along?" Skye asked.

"I want you to see this," Brad said.

When they stepped into a bedroom on the bottom floor; that didn't have a bed in it; Castle whistled and said, "I told you I know Norling right?"

"You did but… you haven't seen him for a while," Brad said breathing out a little. "A long time." He turned his attention to the investigator and asked her, "What do you think?"

"Anger, a lot of anger," Skye replied with a frown on her face. "You're all lucky he didn't take these out with him." She became thoughtful before she asked, "What did his sister say?"

"That he said we'd be coming for him and he would be damned if they'd use her against him," Brad replied. "He had the machete, but she has no idea if he was going to kill her to achieve that or if it was for protection."

"I would say the former," Skye said, looking at the machetes on the wall before she focused on the space where the one Norling had been holding was. "But it's an overreaction you realize?"

"I know," Brad said with a frown. "His sister let Bernier know that he was with her downtown for lunch yesterday. So no, it's not him but I still arrested him of course and will be talking to him."

"Are the three of us going too?" Castle asked.

Glancing around the room Brad said, "Just you two. Come on, let's get the hell out of here."

" _Dare I guess he's upset he had to shoot with you in the vicinity_?" Skye asked the two in Irish as they were walking together.

" _He is_ ," Beckett said.

" _What? You talked to him already and he's not calming down_ ," Castle replied. " _I really don't think he will now_."

Beckett shrugged and went over to the boys and Darnley telling them, "He's not the killer, his sister is his alibi."

"Surprising she did that… considering what happened," Esposito commented.

"He's still her brother," Skye commented. "And I'm sure she's aware that he'll be getting into trouble for what just happened now." She glanced down at her vest and said, "I can get this off, right? Ruddy thing's _lotnaid_."

"What did she just say?" Ryan asked.

"That means a pest in Irish," Beckett explained. "Go ahead," she directed to Skye. "That's for your safety." She shook her head, a slight smile on her face as Skye grumbled walking away trying to almost tear the vest off. "Skye!" she called, jogging after her.

"Yeah, I can see them as having been sisters," Ryan said in amusement. He looked at Darnley and said, "And you their brother in law?"

"Skye and I were just married on paper," Darnley said simply. "But what's odd is that you're talking about that as if it's real."

"You don't believe it?" Esposito asked as they then started to walk to the cars they'd arrived in.

"Oh I do, but you two Kate's made it seem like you wouldn't," Darnley said.

"I do… he's freaking me out about this honestly," Ryan said before gesturing to his partner.

"I don't, but if it was a story bro it'd be a good one," Esposito said, trying to tap his fingertips to the writer's as they'd used to do. "What?"

"It's real Espo," Castle said with a sigh, holding his vest. "And we're writing about who we were but not exactly."

"Another book series?" Ryan asked interestedly.

"You know about this?" Esposito asked Darnley.

"I talk to Kate a lot," the man said though he winced at how that sounded.

"Okay… that's-" Esposito replied. Shaking his head momentarily he then said, "Good luck. Now I have to ask about your vest." He glanced over at Beckett who was walking up to them with Skye and said, "Your vest too."

"What about them?" Beckett asked, sharing a look with her husband.

"Nothing?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, the writer thing was just to get her attention," Castle said, pointing to his wife.

"I wouldn't let him bring the vest," Beckett said. She then frowned and asked her husband, "Where is it actually?"

"I think Mother got a hold of it and tossed it out… or just put it away in the office and I haven't seen it again," Castle said. When she looked startled he explained to his wife, "It's not a big deal."

" _Iontas_ ," Beckett said simply, which was the word surprising. " _Gceapann tu go mbeadh se go mbeadh ceangal fos_?" she then asked him.

" _Nil seans agus ta a fhios agat grá aige go baile. Agus_ -" Castle started to say.

"Wait, what the hell are you two saying?" Esposito said.

"I'm wondering that too," Darnley said. He glanced at Skye who didn't look confused and said, "Lucky."

"You do that often?" Ryan asked the couple.

"Easier to work," Castle said. "We should have done it sooner," he told his wife.

"Unfair to them," Beckett said with a roll of her eyes.

"Very, what did you say?" Esposito asked firmly.

"I asked him if he thought Norling might have a connection; to the murder; still," Beckett replied.

"And I said there's a chance and that he loves the house on the beach. I was also about to say there's a chance he could have gotten in and killed Langston to try and get the house back," Castle said. He looked unhappy with that and said, "Granted it's a stupid idea but since the guy almost turned into Jason…"

"Guys," Brad said, walking over to them. "We're going to split up here; Skye go back with Darnley and the detectives to the station. I'll take Castle and Beckett with me to the hospital so we can wait to talk to Norling."

"Are we technically on pause?" Ryan asked.

"At the moment; I told you about Jardine," Brad replied. "How he told Hall and Rice that he and Langston had the fights over cases resolved at their firm. And he was on the phone with his parents at the time of the murder." When the detectives nodded he said, "We'll be in touch if we have something." He got into his squad car before Beckett was joining him, along with Castle and once they were on their way to the hospital he told his friend, "Think you're up to talking to him?"

"Are you sure you trust me?" Castle replied quickly. "The guy almost ran after my wife with a machete."

"Your wife who was armed," Beckett said simply.

"True," Castle said. He was quiet for a moment before telling her, "Alright, I can but you'll be there right?"

"Are you scared?" Beckett asked as she looked back at him.

"No, you have to hold me back if he's blasé about the whole… event," Castle said before he sat back, and they continued in silence.

* * *

"I'm glad you're okay you know."

"I realize that, things got a little hectic at the house."

Nodding his head Castle said, "I only went to a couple of his parties."

"I had a feeling," Beckett replied easily. "How were they? And you should tell Brad too."

"He can tell me right now," the chief himself said as he walked over to them. "They're patching him up, so we'll have to wait a bit to speak to him." He sat down on the other side of his friend said, "So what about these parties? Please don't tell me they were orgies because we saw enough of that during the other case."

"No," Castle said firmly. "If it had been I wouldn't have gone back. No, there was no sex, but it got close with the way everyone was dancing. And the women…" He paused for a moment and then said, "I think he brought some escorts in among the regular guests to be honest. The house had a lot of rooms so you would see a lot leaving together in pairs or more."

"And you?" Beckett asked.

Shaking his head Castle looked up with them at the nurse that was walking up to them and calling to the chief. He was relieved that they could go in to see Norling but was a little apprehensive as he was recalling the way the man could be while they walked down the hall to the room he was in.

"Mr. Norling," Brad said, walking into the room ahead of Castle and Beckett.

"What do you want?" the man nearly growled. He then looked behind the chief and said, "Richard, hey, you gotta talk to them and-"

"I think it's better if you talked to them," Castle interrupted him. "There's not all that much I can do. Just let us know what's been going on with you."

Norling looked over at the chief before he glanced back at Castle and said, "Nothing, just getting my life back together. Trying to protect my sister."

"Why would you feel the need to?" Beckett commented.

Seeing her for the first time; since Castle had been blocking her slightly; Norling said, "Who's she?"

"Just answer the question," Brad said.

"Okay, I heard what happened and I read it in the _Report_ ," Norling said. "I know how I acted at the auction and I knew you were coming for me. I had to protect myself."

"With a machete," Brad said.

"Yes, with a machete, I didn't want to kill anyone!" Norling exclaimed. "And I didn't want to be arrested for something I didn't do either."

"So you nearly came after my wife with-" Castle started to say, unable to hold back his anger.

"Your wife?" Norling exclaimed.

"Yes, my wife," Castle said firmly. "And you also terrified your sister."

"Do you know this man?" Brad asked, walking over with a picture of their vic as he could tell Norling was startled enough for him to do that.

"I… no," the man replied, shaking his head as he looked at the picture. "I have no idea who… wait!" Norling nearly yelled, making the three jump in varying degrees. "He was at the auction a year ago…"

"He was trying to get the house?" Castle asked in surprise.

"No, he was there but he only bid once," Norling began. "At least not while I was there. And I eventually noticed he kept looking over at someone."

"Who?" the three asked at the same time.

"I don't know," Norling replied. "This guy was wearing glasses and now I know a wig. But this is the same guy in the picture because he had the same scar on his jaw."

"What color was the wig?" Brad asked.

"I think… black," Norling said slowly. "It was a year ago so I don't remember that well. Oh, but I do remember that he nearly outbid me before the one guy… whoever he was, did." When he saw the chief was writing something down he said, "When can I go?"

"I'm afraid you can't," Brad said firmly. "Nearly attacking my officers and Ms. Beckett is going to mean some charges for you Norling."

Obviously grinding his teeth together, the man then said, "Hey Richard, remember that girl you got into it with at my party."

"What?" Castle said, startled.

"The one with huge-" Norling started to say.

"Enough Norling," Brad interrupted. "Whoever she was I'm sure she doesn't exist. I would stay here if I were you; there's an officer outside that keep an eye on you."

"Kate-" Castle started to say to his wife before she held up her hand to stop him as they were leaving the room.

"Do they have cameras in the auction house," Beckett asked the chief.

"Definitely," Brad said. "At least we might have something now," walking swiftly to leave the hospital so they could make their way back to the station.

* * *

"What are you-"

"I needed somewhere a little more private to talk to you. Brad was right, there was never a woman-"

Clamping her hand over her husband's mouth Beckett looked over to the door from the breakroom to the bullpen. As soon as they'd gotten back he'd literally dragged her over to the room while Brad was going to tell the four in his office what they had. "Good?" she asked him.

Nodding; as there wasn't much he could do; Castle was relieved when she took her hand away and said, "But you have to believe me."

"I do," Beckett replied.

"You do… how?" Castle asked before he realized he was questioning the result he'd wanted.

"Your face when Norling was saying that," Beckett said in amusement. She then grew serious and said, "He was lashing out at me. He was going to come after me, he'll face charges and finding out I was your wife…" She spread her hands apart and told him, "Weak because he doesn't know you now, but he thought he would get… something out of that." She shrugged and then said, "We need to get back to the case you know."

"Yes," Castle said slowly. He couldn't help smiling when his wife rolled her eyes but wrapped his arms around her while she held to the middle of his shirt while they kissed. Since anyone could see them from the bullpen he kept that quick before they slowly parted and he said, " _Lig do maire a thabhairt duit_."

Since he'd basically told her to let him take care of her Beckett replied, " _Más féidir liom a dhéanamh ar an gcéanna_."

Since his wife had said if she could do the same Castle nearly froze for a moment before he said, "Sounds good," speaking in English.

Turning around, Beckett was relieved they'd let go of each other by then as Darnley was walking up to the room. "What is it?" she asked her friend when he was close.

"Brad's calling the auction house," Darnley said, not wanting to tell them that he'd been able to see the two during their kiss. "They do have cameras as they film every auction… why I don't know I didn't hear. Sounds a little creepy."

"Creepy but it helps us out," Beckett commented simply before she passed him and went over to the chief's office, finding the boys writing on the board.

"Alright?" Skye asked her friend.

"Yeah, just…" Beckett said before she stopped herself. "Could you see us?"

" _Me and him_ ," Skye answered with a wide smile, speaking in Russian as she had, nodding over at Darnley. " _But really, why would he think you believed that_?"

Beckett was quiet for a moment before she reminded her about Tyson making it appear he'd been having an affair shortly after she and Castle had gotten together. " _I never really believed it but for some reason my mind went briefly back to how he'd been before_." She shook her head and said, " _Of course he never had affairs so it helped me but_ …"

" _I don't blame you_ ," Skye commented. She glanced at Castle who was talking to Ryan then and turned to her to tell her, " _You fear that becoming a reality if you love someone that much_."

"Parra?" Beckett asked.

Shaking her head Skye said, " _When we first started, I thought she would leave me because I was so hesitant_."

" _That bang against the door let me know she won't_ ," Beckett said teasingly.

Playfully narrowing her eyes Skye said, " _We moved away from it_."

" _Good to know_ ," Beckett said before they looked at Brad when he hung up the phone, almost falling onto his chair to get to his computer.

"They sent me the footage; we're incredibly lucky they have it," the chief told them. "They keep things for about fourteen months before they delete everything." After he typed on the computer he said, "We can't all watch this, but we'll take turns. Castle, Beckett watch with me first but don't say anything. I want to check and see if we all notice something."

Going to stand behind the chief Beckett watched the video and she asked, "Is there any sound?"

"No, I guess in their mind they figure recording sound is a lot less invasive than filming them," Brad said with a shrug. Since there was nothing happening except for bidding on a house he said, "They told me it's about twenty minutes in."

"Luckily we can see the houses," Castle commented, watching his friend fast forward the footage.

"There," Beckett said, seeing the house as it used to look in a picture next to the auctioneer.

Castle was tempted to call out when the bidding was starting but he knew his wife and Brad were aware of it and recalled his friend didn't want the others to know yet. So he focused his attention on the screen, watching as Brad brought up the footage in the lower right corner, of the people bidding.

Beckett quickly spotted what they were looking for, but she didn't move or say anything in reaction as the vic that Norling had described was there, easily seen since he was the only one inside wearing sun glasses. He was raising the paddle he had until finally Soverall was the last one to bid and she glanced at her husband as Langston they were watching had gotten up and left.

"Guys," Brad then said to the boys.

Going to their usual armchairs, Castle sat with his wife but didn't say anything since they didn't really have a language they could speak in that Skye wouldn't know. So he looked on with her as the boys and then Darnley and the investigator took their turns watching the footage before the chief stood up and walked over to his printer.

"I don't know what exactly-" Brad started to say.

"Wait, I just noticed something," Esposito said before the chief could continue. "Here," he told the others who were all looking at him. "Do you recognize this guy?"

"Ralston," Brad said in surprise as they'd all gathered to look at the video where the detective had paused on the man. "What's he doing?" he asked Esposito who didn't say anything, merely played the footage so they could watch the construction company owner.

When the man visibly swore when Soverall won the bidding and then left the room after Langston Beckett said, "You might need to find him."

"I'll get on the phone," Brad replied easily before he reached for it to begin the search for the man.

"Suspect?" Castle asked his wife as they left together for the breakroom, a little behind the others.

"Of course," Beckett said with a nod, not wanting to voice they might be waiting a little to find Ralston if it was widely known that Norling had been arrested. She tried not to think of the hours they might have to go as she was thinking of their daughters, wanting to be with them that summer afternoon.

* * *

"I think we should bring out the raft," Julia was saying to her little sister.

"Yeah… can we?" Eliza asked her.

"Yep, come on," Julia said, going into the storage room at the pool. It was just after lunch and though their grandparents were keeping them from swimming just yet she wanted to get the raft for when they could go into the water.

"What are you gonna do?" Tommy Ryan asked, walking over to them.

"We're gonna go on the raft," Eliza said. She became thoughtful before she asked her big sister, "Can he go on with us?"

"I don't know," Julia said, looking over at the adults. "We'll ask, but you gotta go ask your mom."

"Okay," Tommy replied before he rushed over to where she was sitting with his brother and Nancy.

"What is it?" Eliza asked as her sister was looking at Paul who was talking with Brennan and Jim.

"Nothing," Julia said with a smile as she was thinking about how strange it was a little still with Paul there. She then turned her attention to the raft and started pulling it with her sister's help. Their parents had the raft somewhere where she could take it out easily if she needed to but after a while she realized she wasn't pulling it out with help.

"Here," a voice said behind her.

Julia had no idea why she screamed shortly when she knew who that voice belonged to, but she quickly stopped herself and looked at Mari saying, "You're here!"

"Yeah, I asked my mom and she said if your grandparents said it was okay I could stay until dinner," the girl said with a laugh as her friend wrapped her arms around her. "I gotta go eat at home and stay home too. Hi," she then said with a laugh as the other kids ran over to her. "What're we doing now?"

"Did you eat lunch just now?" Erin asked her.

"Yeah, Mom told me you might not be swimming yet and I have to wait too," Mari said. She then turned to Julia and said, "We should get the raft."

"Yep," Julia said with a laugh before they turned their attention to it to pull it fully out.

"Gear you brought me my raft," Louis said jokingly as he hurried over to the kids who were all somehow carrying it around the end of the pool.

"No it's not!" Erin said, frowning playfully at her brother. "It's Julia's and Eliza's."

"Everyone can use it," the former said. "And we have another one too we just didn't get it yet."

"Let us take care of that," Louis said, going to the room himself with Alexis following him. "How late are we staying with them?" he asked his girlfriend since they were alone.

"I don't know," Alexis said honestly. "I suppose we should head out once they go to dinner."

"Were you able to get the reservations then?" Louis asked her.

"Of course, I told you they know my dad's name," Alexis replied with a smile. "And Kate's too for that matter; luckily they have that big room."

"I know, I'm surprised your dad's alright with us going on our own," Louis commented.

"Me too," Alexis replied quickly. "Are you going to take that out or do you really need my help?"

"You got me," Louis said with a wry grin, going to her. He walked over to her and kissed her as soon as he'd reached her, doing so gently at first before they slowly became more passionate. He could have lasted for some time before they were startled apart by someone crying out, "Boo!" making them turn quickly to the doorway.

"I'm sorry," Eliza said quickly when she realized the two had been kissing. "I thought you were gonna get a toy…"

"It's okay," Alexis said quickly, hurrying over to her little sister. "We were supposed to be getting the raft, but we were a little… distracted."

"That's good though," Eliza replied.

"It was, but we need to hurry," Louis commented. "Since we're going to swim now."

"I heard Jules talking," Eliza said suddenly as she was watching them grab the other raft.

"About what?" Alexis asked.

"About going to see the lobby," Eliza said.

"I better talk to her," the young woman said, looking at her boyfriend. She hurried out to the pool, leaving the two to watch her though the little girl didn't look surprised.

"What lobby is that Eliza?" Louis asked her.

With a smile she replied, "Where Mommy and Daddy are now. I think she wanted to go to show them just the lobby 'cause they're working right now."

"Could she?" Louis asked, gesturing for her to head outside.

"Yeah," Eliza said with a nod. "They might see her too," she said before she looked over to where her sisters were together, talking to each other.

"You can't just go with all these kids-" Alexis was saying.

"Not all of them, just the ones that can ride a bike," Julia interrupted her. "And I won't ask to see Mom and Dad, just ask if we can look through the door at the bullpen. Mari didn't even see it yet!"

"Yes she did," Alexis said firmly. "When they had the open house."

"Before the station was a station!" Julia protested. "Let me ask Grandpapa and Gram at least."

"Ask us what?" Jim said as he walked over to them.

"Gram didn't come back?" Alexis asked him, looking at the path to the house.

"I think she's staying with Josie," Jim said easily. "Now what is it you wanted to ask us?"

"I wanted to take the twins, Fleur, Erin and Mari to the station," Julia replied.

"Not Fleur," Mary said, walking over to them. "Just the twins."

"They have permission?" Julia asked eagerly, looking at Marie and Kathleen.

"Of course, if you don't pester everyone working," Mary said easily.

"We won't, they have an officer at the front and I know all of them," Julia said, her excitement obvious.

"What about Mari?" Alexis asked.

"My parents won't care; as long as I don't bother anyone like Mary said," the girl herself told them.

"You'll have to get redressed," Mary commented.

"We can go right now!" Julia said eagerly, taking off for the house.

"Don't wake up your sister!" Jim called quickly. "Oh no Eliza, stay with us honey."

"I wanna go," the little girl replied, sounding upset.

"I know but they're not going to take that long," Jim replied.

"How do you know?" Brennan asked in surprise.

"Is it okay Erin's going too?" Jim said as he suddenly realized that the girl's parents hadn't said.

"Oh sure, station's a safe place to be… all the rozzers," Brennan commented.

"Do you want me to sing the song?" Paul asked in amusement. He then said, "Would you want them to have a chaperone of sorts?"

"Do you want to go with them?" Nancy asked her husband in surprise.

"I would, just to make sure they get there safe," the singer answered.

"And see the station too Dad," Beatrice said with a smile.

"That as well," Paul admitted nonchalantly with a nod. "Is there a bike I could borrow?"

"I'll get you my dad's," Alexis said.

When the girls that were going all went down to the garage they were surprised to see Alexis there, leading Julia to ask, "Are you going?"

"No," the young woman said simply. "He is."

Turning with the others to see who was going to come inside Julia gasped in her surprise and she said, "You are?"

"Going along? I am, you know I got made by the NYPD; I have a detective shield too; so your mum has to let me in," Paul said. When he saw the way Julia and Mari were wrinkling their noses he couldn't help laughing and said, "I just would like to see, never have before."

Julia was about to say that he had but she realized she didn't know if he'd seen any police stations in the US, she knew he'd been arrested in Japan and thought maybe in Scotland as well. She merely smiled and said. "It's nice but I don't think you're gonna be able to have a tour."

"I thought we were just going to see the lobby," Paul said.

"You are," Alexis replied, letting him take her father's bike. "And let Julia lead, it isn't her first time riding over there."

"Will do," Paul said in a pseudo American accent. After the garage door was open he said, "Ah, looks like we're getting quite a sendoff." He watched the twins and Erin hurry to their parents and looked down at Julia saying, "Do you want to see your mum?"

"I want to, and my dad," Julia replied with a nod. "But I want them to finish the case."

"I'll hope you can get a quick hullo at least," Paul said. "And the twins as well of course."

"Yeah," Julia said, smiling up at him before they could finally push their bikes to the gate someone had opened. Once they were all on their bikes she said to the twins and Erin; including Paul though she didn't look at him; "It's not too far and we have to lock up the bikes outside 'cause someone would steal them still."

"Let's go," Marie said eagerly.

Nodding, Julia climbed up on her bike before they started to ride away from the house. Mari was next to her and she glanced behind her rapidly to see that Paul was with Erin last. She smiled and said, "I hope your parents don't mind."

"I said they won't," Mari said reassuringly. She stood up on her bike for a moment and they started to laugh before they turned their attention back to the road.

Julia was relieved the ride seemed to go quickly, soon getting off her bike as the others were doing the same, walking with them rapidly across the street. In front of the station she locked up the bikes with Paul's help and they soon went inside the lobby, relieved that Officer Hill was there at the front desk. She was quiet, waiting for him to notice them which he soon did, smiling at her before he took in the others and then finally spoke.

"Hello Julia, I'm not too surprised you're here," the officer said as he glanced at Paul. "Came to see your parents?"

"No, just to show my friends the lobby here," Julia said. "You know Mari," she then said hurriedly as she realized she needed to introduce them. "That's my cousin Erin, she's from England and Ireland. And then these are Marie and Kathleen, their mum is Skye who's here. This is Paul," she said, smiling at the singer.

"Hullo," he said to the officer.

"Nice to meet you," Hall said as he shook his hand, looking a little stunned still. "Feel free to look around."

"Could we look through the door?" Julia asked hopefully before she was suddenly gasping as it opened next to her. She had to step around it to see who was there and then cried out, "Mom!" before launching herself at Beckett who was standing in the doorway.

"Sweetie," she said with a smile at Paul before she looked down at her daughter. "What are you doing here?" Beckett asked, letting her go to cup her face.

"I wanted to show them where you and Dad work," Julia said. "And Paul said he never saw a police station here before. But I was just gonna show them the lobby and then from the door here… if Officer Hall said it was okay."

"She just asked," the officer said with a smile as Beckett looked at him.

"Yeah… where's Dad?" Julia said then.

"Here," Castle said as he stepped out from behind his wife. He smiled at her when Julia rushed to him and embraced her while she was doing so with him. "How's everyone back at the home."

"Hold on," Beckett said. "Let them in," she said as she was looking at Hall.

"Yeah, just ask Rice to tell you if they hear the chief coming back," the officer replied with a nod.

"Come on," Castle said. "We'll try to give you a tour, but it depends if the chief gets back." He smiled at the twins and asked, "Would you like me to get their mom?"

"No need," Skye said as she was walking quickly to them.

"Mummy!" the twins said, rushing over to her and hugging her.

"I'm glad to see you girls," Skye said as she was embracing them back. "Did your mom not let your sister come?" When they nodded she smiled and said, "No surprise."

Erin looked a little uncomfortable before Beckett came over to her and she said, "Is it alright I'm here?"

"It is," Beckett said gently. "Would you like to walk around?"

"Yeah," the girl said, nodding with a smile.

"First though is the bullpen," Castle hurriedly told them as he saw his wife was taking them over to the shooting range. "Where all the officers are."

"And over there is the chief's office," Julia said.

"You said peek inside," Beckett told her, squeezing her shoulder. When her husband looked at her she told him, " _They're not going inside, not with the murder board there_."

Nodding his head quickly Castle went ahead of them to check the room they'd reached, and he told his wife, "No one's here."

"What's this for?" Erin asked interestedly.

"What're those things in the back?" Kathleen said before the adults could reply, Darnley having joined them.

"It's where the officers come to practice their shooting," Beckett said. She nearly jumped when she felt her daughter touching her hip and she looked down at her to see the girl peering at her other hip. "I don't have it now sweetie," she said, knowing what she was looking for exactly.

"Oh… good," Julia said, smiling a little at her.

"Have you done that in here?" Paul said.

"I do, I have to pass the same test the officers do," Beckett answered. "Rick too."

"You do?" Julia asked in shock as she looked at her father.

"Even though I'm not allowed to carry one they want me to be efficient," Castle commented.

"Do you know how to do that?" Mari was asking Paul.

"What do you mean?" the singer asked in surprise.

"In your song you shoot one," Mari replied.

" _Oh Woman, Oh Why_ ," Julia said swiftly.

"Ah, that actually had blanks in it," Paul said as he recalled. "And there was no one near me but Linda, taking a few pictures. Well away though."

"Let's keep going," Beckett told them. They came to a large room with a large metal door at the other end that was closed, and she was about to tell them what it was when Marie was suddenly guessing.

"Is this the garage?" the little girl asked.

"It's called the sally port," Castle answered. "When they need to bring someone here to hold in the cells here are they drive in and close the door behind them so the person they're bringing can't escape."

"Oh…" Marie said. "Cool."

Skye tousled her daughter's hair and said, "It's a bit serious work sweetling." When her daughter made a face at her she smiled and squeezed her shoulder before she said, "Let's keep going."

Since there were some rooms she knew they couldn't take the others Beckett came to the doorway of the chief's office and said, "This is where we work mostly with Brad, though that desk over there we worked at sometimes too."

"Why don't you have your own desk?" Erin asked Castle when she spotted the chair next to it and guessed that was where he sat.

"I wasn't an officer or detective before," he answered. "So I'm just lucky to be here."  
Beckett shook her head before she said, "Last is the break room; Esposito and Ryan are there."

"Hey…" the former said in surprise when he saw the kids there as well as Paul.

"Julia wanted to show them the lobby," Beckett said.

"So they got a tour instead?" Ryan asked in slight amusement.

"Yeah," Castle said. "It's only fair, they came this far to see it."

"Has anyone heard from Brad at all?" Beckett then said.

"No, he's still trying to figure out where the company is working next," Esposito said, looking at the kids.

"Let Rice know that you want to know whenever he's coming back," Beckett said before she took Julia's hand. They walked together ahead of everyone to the lobby again and once they were there she told the kids, "So how did you like it?"

"It's cool," Marie said first.

"You know everyone there too don't you?" Kathleen added.

"We do, it helps since we're not part of the police exactly," Beckett said with a smile. "And now you know where we are when you hear we're on a case."

"Can Julia come here whenever she wants?" Erin asked.

"I can come to see them very fast," the girl herself answered. "But I couldn't go in like that all the time." Julia turned her attention to her mother and said, "We have to go back now don't we?"

"I think so," Beckett replied with a smile. She wasn't surprised when her daughter hugged her tightly and she did the same back to her before she stepped away and held her by her shoulders. "When you get home give Eliza a hug and tell her it's from me," she said.

"I will," Julia replied with a smile.

"You'll do the same for Josie, right?" Beckett then asked. "If she's awake of course."

"Yep," Julia said, smiling again before she went to her father. "Want me to do the same for you?"

"That would be nice," Castle replied, sharing a hug with her. He squeezed her a little tightly before saying as he let go, "And tell her we're going to the _Narrows_ tonight."

"We are?" Julia gasped eagerly.

"We are," Castle said with a smile. "With everyone else."

"Cool," Julia said before she went back to their bikes that were chained to the railing on the ramp up to the entrance. "What did you think?" she asked Paul.

"Your parents seem very comfortable there," Paul replied. He paused for a moment then said, "Your uncles didn't really."

"This isn't their station," Julia said with a shrug. "And they're not working either. I bet if they were working," she said while she got onto her bike. "They would be more comfortable."

"You have a point," Paul said. "We should go then, I'm sure they're going to work again soon. Should get out of the way."

Julia smiled before she started pedaling and they made their way back to the house. She was a little impatient to get back but made sure she put away her bike the way it was supposed to be before she ran through the house to get down to the pool.

"It looks like they're back," Martha said in amusement when she saw the girl. She was startled when Julia, after pausing for a moment, ran over to Eliza, hugging her tightly.

"That's from Mom," she said with a smile as she could feel her little sister's confusion. She let go of her before she embraced her again and they both started to laugh before they said at the same time, "From Dad." "From Daddy."

When her sister let go of her Eliza said, "Thanks. What about Josa?"

"I'm gonna go do that right now," Julia said before she hurried over to where their little sister was with their grandfather. "Can I hold her Grandpapa?"

"Alright," Beckett's father replied, handing over the baby very carefully.

"I can't hug you twice," Julia said to her sister as she was holding her against her shoulder. "But I'll just squeeze you a little bit." She did that two times and then kissed Josie's temple saying, "They miss you, I could tell." Smiling at Eliza she said, "You too."

"I know," the girl said indignantly before she smiled at her. "Are you gonna go swimming now?" Eliza then asked.

"Sure," Julia replied. But she didn't move, looking at Josie before she said, "I don't want to let her go."

"What if you have to change her diaper?" Eliza pointed out.

"Ew," Julia said before they laughed together. She glanced around together and asked, "Where's 'lexis?"

Shrugging Eliza said, "They went into the house."

"Oh… okay," Julia replied. "I guess we better go in," she said as the other kids were coming down with Mary and Paul.

"What're you gonna do with Josa?" Eliza asked, letting the baby take hold of her index finger. She giggled before Julia could reply as Josie was smiling at her with her mouth open and tongue moving. "She's licking your shirt," she told their big sister.

Julia gasped slightly and tried to go to their grandfather as quickly as she could without running telling him to his surprised expression, "I think Josa's gonna be hun-"

"Come with me," Jim said, standing up. When he saw the way his oldest's granddaughter's eyes widened he said, "You want to have the chance to feed her don't you?"

"Oh! Yeah, I do," Julia said, following him with Eliza going after her. When they were inside the kitchen she couldn't help wincing when Josie started to cry, doing so into her ear since she was still on her shoulder.

"Here," Jim said as he had a chance to help her while he was getting the bottle ready.

"Thanks," Julia said once she was cradling her little sister. She gently rocked her, frowning at the way her little sister was crying, before she said, "Don't cry Josa, you're gonna get your bottle soon." That didn't really stop the baby so she said, "Does she miss Mom?"

"At this moment yes," Jim said, glancing at the girls and seeing that Eliza was trying to tickle the baby. "Here," he said, going over with the bottle.

"Can I feed her outside?" Julia asked.

"It's better if we take her to the family room," Jim said gently while he was ushering her over to the hall. He was a little surprised when Julia suddenly took off at a fast stride and he smiled as he had to hurry to make sure he was with them. He paused at the closet by the office, grabbing a towel before he continued. When he was at the doorway to the room he smiled watching Julia feeding Josie the bottle while she and Eliza both smiled down at their little sister.

Hearing something clicking, Julia looked up with her sister to see their grandfather was holding his camera up with one hand. "You took a picture?" she asked with a smile.

"I did, I'll send it to your parents once they're on their way home," Jim said.

"I hope Mommy doesn't feel sad," Eliza said.

"And Dad," Julia told her before she nearly jumped at her grandfather setting the towel he'd had in his hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry but you'll need this," Jim explained.

"Why can't I do that?" Eliza said in protest.

"Do you want to?" Jim asked. When the little girl nodded he then took the towel and put it on Eliza's shoulder before he said, "Luckily you've done it before."

"You could teach me," Eliza said with a smile.

Squeezing her other shoulder Jim said, "I could, but I think your parents wanted to do that. And luckily they did," speaking absently towards the end as Alexis was entering the room.

"I was wondering where you were," the young woman explained. "All the kids are in the pool and you three were missing."

"Do you want to feed her?" Julia asked though she was enjoying doing that.

"It's okay," Alexis said with a smile. "And she's almost finished anyways."

Looking down at the baby with the girls Jim went around the couch so he could get Josie over to Eliza as soon as the bottle was empty. Though he knew his middle granddaughter had burped the baby before he sat next to her to make sure she would be alright.

Setting down the bottle on the coffee table Julia went over to the window and looked out on the backyard before she said, "Think he'll get something for her?"

"What?" Alexis asked since she was closest to her.

"Remember Dad told us he's gonna get robes for him and Mom," Julia said, looking up at her sister.

"Right," Alexis replied. "But I think it's more is she going to wear them."

"She will, Dad will make sure," Julia said. "I don't mean the robes, I mean a badge… Like Prefect or Head Girl?"

"I don't know," Alexis said hesitantly. "I think your mom would wear the robes but not a pin like that. Besides you're Head Girl from Ravenclaw already aren't you?"

Julia couldn't help giggle before she said, "A different year. In…"

"Six years from now," Alexis said.

"That's right," Julia replied. "And then Mom was…"

"When she was seventeen," Alexis said. "I guess Dad would get her the Prefect pin."

"Would he want to be too?" Julia asked.

"I have no idea," Alexis said with a laugh and a shrug of her shoulders. She heard Josie making a noise then and walked back to the three saying, "Is she ready?"

"She is," Jim replied, allowing her to take the baby. Once Josie was settled in her arms he followed her with Julia and Eliza asking the two, "Are you going to swim now?"

"Yep… I hope they'll play with me," the former said then.

"Why wouldn't they?" Jim asked.

"'Cause I disappeared," Julia said. She frowned and said, "I left Mari too."

"I'm sure she asked and your gram told her where you went," Jim said reassuringly.

Julia wanted to run ahead of them down to the pool, but her grandfather squeezed her hand firmly before she could do that, so she walked with them until they were finally by the pool. She rushed over, pulling off her shirt and shorts before splashing into the water to where Mari was standing.

"Julia!" the girl cried out in surprise.

"Sorry, I'm here now," Julia replied.

"I knew where you were," Mari said with a slight giggle. "Martha said when we came over 'cause we saw you leave."

"Oh, I didn't want to be rude," Julia said, smiling at Tommy Ryan who was floating next to her. "What are we doing?"

"We're just swimming, we never got the rafts," Mari said.

Julia immediately turned and went up the steps before she grabbed one of the rafts from where they were in the shade. She started to pull on it when she squealed as something cold touched her back. "Macca!" she cried laughingly as she turned to see it was the Wolfhound.

"What?" Paul asked, walking by her then.

"No, him," Julia said with a giggle as she wrapped her arms around the dog. "Does that mean I can call you that too?"

"You can," Paul said, going over to her and ruffling her hair to her laugh.

"I like Paul better," Julia said. She frowned a little and asked, "Think I can ask something?"

"Of course," the singer replied.

"If I ever have… kids," Julia said, blushing deeply as she spoke. "And if I have a son, can I name him Paul?"

"Yes," the singer said firmly. "I know a number of fans of mine who've done that. Would your parents mind?"

Shaking her head Julia said, "They don't care; Lizzy and I asked them that after Josa came home after she was born. Dad just asked that we don't call them a verb, like walk."

"Walk? Well that's a different choice I'll give you that," Paul said in amusement. "But do your parents know you've thought of this?"

Nodding Julia said, "I said I liked the name Paul George," blushing again.

"Fab names lass," Paul said, pinching her cheek playfully. "And George would be honored."

"Would he?" Julia asked hopefully.

"He would. And your parents?" Paul said in response.

"They liked it, my dad would call him Paulie but I said no 'cause it sounds like Polly like birds are always supposed to say that when they say they want a cracker," Julia said, wrinkling her nose.

"Paul's better," the singer said. When Julia laughed and nodded he said, "Thank you for that though you're some way off from that point."

"My dad said that," Julia said. "Mom too." She smiled when Paul laughed and nodded before he left her as his wife was calling out to him. She turned her attention back to the raft when she heard someone walking up to her.

"Sorry, I was listening to the two of you talking," Mary commented when she had reached her. "You've thought ahead."

"You don't think I would have had that in my head for years and years?" Julia asked wryly. She smiled when the woman nodded seriously and then said, "Do you miss Skye?"

"A bit," Mary said, taking the other raft. "When she's investigating what she needs to she's further so at least she'll be home once they finish for the day."

Nodding, as she had forgotten that the investigator would need to go out of town, California or even the country for her work, Julia said, "I hope they finish soon, I want my parents to come so they can be on vacation with us."

"I'm sure they'll be finished soon. Now come on, let's get these into the pool," Mary said to distract her before they made their way down into the water trailing the rafts behind them as the kids began to gather around them.


	13. Got Through, Before We Knew It (Part 2)

"Did you find any sign of Ralston?" Castle asked. "I don't mean him physically but more…"

"A sign, I got what you were saying," Brad said, sitting down behind his desk. "And no, there's no indication of where he is. Not at home or work or anywhere. Not even his workers know where he is at this moment."

"That's not good," Darnley commented. When the chief looked at him he said, "You have woods don't you?"

"I can't have that kind of search," Brad said. "And I can't get the warrant because according to Whitby I can't say either way why I want to find him. Said an APB would be enough."

"Good attitude," Skye commented. "What about the mystery man?"

"What about him?" Brad said, everyone turning to look at the investigator then.

"Did you ever wonder why Langston was there?" Skye said easily.

"Of course, but we can't ask the guy," Esposito said before anyone else could.

"No but he was there and we just saw him trying to buy it," Skye replied. "So why is that?"

"The relationship with Ashby was just to get to the house," Beckett said, trying to figure out where the woman was going with that.

"You looked into it, he had no connection to anything here until he started to date Ashby," Ryan said.

"That explains it then," Brad said with a sigh. "There was a name that went with Ralston's company, for an Evan Lansdowne. Something about it really got on my nerves but we got busy," he explained, typing on his computer. He stopped and leaned back saying, "That's his brother."

"Lansdowne?" Beckett asked.

"He changed it to that after their parents got a divorce three years ago," Brad said. "I'm assuming he and his father were… estranged."

"But that information didn't come up in… his brother was Langston there too," Beckett began before she sighed that time. "They never updated his information."

"Are looking for the brother too?" Castle asked Brad.

Shaking his head, the chief said, "He's dead," as he looked at them from the screen of his computer. "He died after falling from some scaffolding around the house where the crime scene was."

"It said Ralston worked on it before," Skye commented to the boys as they hadn't remembered to tell them. "Which is very likely why they were the ones to tear down the house; Soverall must have known."

"Was there a wrongful death suit?" Esposito asked.

"There was, and nothing came of it as it was an accident and OSHA said everything was fine with the railings," Brad replied. "So I get the feeling when he found out Ashby's connection to the house…"

"He knew already," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"We never did find out how they met," Skye said when Beckett looked at her. "Should you call?"

"I'd prefer you do that," Brad said, picking up the telephone and sliding a piece of paper over to it.

While she was doing that Beckett said, "This starts to turn things to Ralston."

"I'm aware," the chief said since she was looking at him. "Though I'm half hoping it's not him because we can't find him… which is likely the reason why." He looked over with them at Skye and said, "Did she tell you?"

"He met her at a bar," the investigator said. "I didn't know if you'd want me to say but I asked if it seemed like he was eager when they met. And he was."

"Better you asked that," Brad said.

"And he was also eager about the house," Skye added. "She thought at first he just wanted to stick it to Soverall too but as time went on it became less about Soverall and more about the house itself."

"Considering that's where Langston's brother fell…" Castle began.

"That's a coincidence," Ryan said.

"It actually is," Castle said quickly. "This time around, since it's Ralston that's the target." He looked at his wife then, before she nodded and then turned to the chief to get his attention so she could tell him what they'd thought of.

"He intended to do something to the company," Beckett said.

"What that is though is a little hard to discern since we have no one to ask," Castle said. "But it's likely Ralston found out he was here and what he was planning to do."

"You might want to contact the security-" Beckett started to say.

"I asked them when I called before," Brad replied easily. "And they said no one was trying to get a hold of footage in the past month or so. You didn't ask if the footage was diverted though."

"It was?" Castle and Beckett both asked in surprise.

"When did you find that out?" Ryan asked.

"Just now," the chief replied, nodding to his computer screen. "The company just sent me an e-mail that they were looking at their footage a little more closely after I talked to them. Whoever they have looking into it found that it had been hacked."

"Can they trace it?" Darnley asked.

"They're trying to but it's going to take some time," Brad said.

"Of course it will," Castle said, sitting down.

"Anything come in about Ralston?" Brad asked as Wade walked inside the room.

"Sorry chief, all I have is the information on the vic's brother," the officer replied, handing the file in his hand over.

"With the inconsistencies of the file on my computer I wanted to get it straight from the source," Brad explained to everyone.

"Where?" Ryan asked.

"Montauk," Brad said. "The family was living here when Langston's brother was born but they moved out to the city when he was a year old. So the information was here."

"So you just have the birth certificate," Beckett said in confusion.

"A copy of it and then this," Brad said, frowning as he handed it to her.

"He… wait," Beckett said when she'd read it. When the chief shrugged she turned to everyone and said, "According to this, either Lansdowne's body is missing or he didn't die."

"Hold on!" Brad said, standing up from his desk at the way almost everyone seemed to be protesting that. "I know what this looks like, but I assure you I'm going to send Wade out to look into it." He then turned to Beckett and said, "Keep them under control while I'm gone," before he left to find his officer to speak to him.

"This makes no sense," Darnley told his friend before she handed him the paper. "Still doesn't," he said, seeing it was a letter from the funeral parlor in Montauk stating that the body had never made it to them.

"We have no clue if this is right," Beckett began. "But I get the feeling that the brothers had switched places."

"Where do you get that?" Esposito said in slight exasperation. "And that sounds like one of his theories."

"Not really, not when there's slight proof of it," Castle replied. "When Brad talks to the company I know what he'll find. Whoever was there with Lansdowne or Langston that day will say that he fell from the railing and fell unconscious and that was it."

"Also that his brother picked him up; or a friend," Beckett continued. "And they left."

"For the lawsuit?" Skye asked.

"That would be the most obvious motive," Beckett said.

"That still sounds crazy," Esposito scoffed. "All that for a lawsuit that didn't happen?"

"They were sloppy," Brad said as he walked into the office. "And they disappeared," he added. "The lawsuit was dropped because no one could prove that the brother was dead because of malpractice on behalf of Ralston's company. But a doctor at Southampton General signed off on the death certificate two days later though there's some confusion about the body."

"Concussion?" Castle asked while his wife was taking the paper; which he assumed was a copy of it; he held.

"How did Langston explain it?" Ryan asked.

"He wasn't there, his parents hired a lawyer and from that lawyer he wasn't even aware his clients had a second son," Brad replied. "So this is a very tangled mess," he said with a sigh as he sat down on one of the armchairs in front of his desk.

"It is, should do a tree diagram or… something," Castle commented before he was slightly startled by his friend getting back up out of his chair.

"A tree?" Beckett asked after the chief yelled out into the bull pen for someone to get a second whiteboard for them.

"I'll show you," Brad said. Once Hutchinson had brought in the board he thanked his officer and then picked up a marker before he said, "We'll take this from Langston and then add everyone in," writing the name in the middle. "Everything's revolving around him and I hope writing it out this way will help us. Whoever has something, just let me know," he told them all, waiting for someone to speak as he wanted to keep his mind clear for that.

"Chief," Hutchinson said, coming in. "I found something you need to see."

Taking the paper Brad said, "So that was just a crazy theory of Castle's"

"Hey," he said in mock annoyance.

"Sorry, it's the actual death certificate," Brad said. "And I got a note from the hospital here in town. There was a mix up in the bodies at the time, someone was doing meth and working on paperwork. So not a theory of yours."

"Yeah, he doesn't do drugs," Beckett said slightly absently as she took the paper and read it. "Where does this leave us."

"Still with Langston," Ryan said.

"Of course," Beckett replied. "But how about what else in his life would this have to deal with his murder. The motive. From what we know he's never been married, he and Ashby were in love to everyone else. All there is, is Ralston." Something came to her and she asked, "Do you have anyone watching his house?"

"Of course," Brad said, drawing a line from the name and writing Ralston's. "And therein lies the issue," he breathed out.

"Did he have anything at all on him? Juvie file…" Esposito began.

"Nope," Brad replied. "Checked it every which way and there's nothing in his past but some speeding tickets, parking tickets and the standards for the city." He made a note of the lack of criminal record under Ralston's name and then turned to the others who were all watching him.

"You're not going to write down everyone we've talked to?" Castle asked.

Brad rapidly did so, writing the names down all around Langston's before he drew a dashed line to the name Lansdowne. "They have a confirmed alibi, and them, and them," he said while he carefully marked off the names with a dot. "He's dead we know now. What exactly do we have?"

"Are you sure Ralston's that clear?" Darnley asked.

"I know," Brad said. "But we've checked his associates already, checked on the company checked everyone."

"Does he have any companies that are rivals?" Skye inquired.

"No," Brad replied in annoyance.

"Why don't we look at the crime scene again?" Beckett asked.

"She's right; retrace what Ashby wrote down for you and then see what we notice," Castle said.

"We're in agreement that this has to be her now?" Brad asked as he hadn't marked Ashby's name for a cleared alibi.

"It's leaning towards her," Beckett said.

"Okay, so I'd like to keep you two here," Brad told the boys. "I'm not sure what you could do right now but-"

"We can take a look at the companies around here," Ryan suggested.

"You can," Brad said as he had one of his officers looking into the other companies though there hadn't been any word of any rivalries from what he'd heard. "I'd appreciate it as Garces is likely swamped. If you find anything let us know."

"We will," Esposito said with a nod. "Will he be alright with us working with him?"

"He'll probably kiss you," Castle commented.

"He's the newbie?" Ryan asked as Esposito froze for a moment.

"He is, not on patrol until Friday so that's why he's working on that now," Brad explained. "And if we get anything we'll have someone bring you guys out to us."

"Good luck," Ryan said before the five left the office.

"You didn't want me to be working on that at least?" Skye asked Brad while they were walking.

"I would rather have you go to the house, we could use your methods of observation," the chief told her.

"I had a feeling," the investigator replied before they left the station.

"You realize we should consider his life in the city, right?" Castle asked once they were on their way.

"We have," Brad replied. "You know Ryan and Esposito talked with Karpowski and besides Jardine and the feud at work they had going there was nothing to his story in the city."

"Do you want the boys back there?" Beckett asked, looking back at her husband.

Thinking about that for a moment Castle nodded and said, "I guess you're right. I just want to find out who did this."

"So do I," Brad commented.

"Do you have someone on Ashby too?" Beckett said.

"I do," the chief replied. "I've had someone on her since she was in the hospital." They were reaching the home and he parked against the curb before getting out and looking back at the car with Darnley and Skye. "I have a copy of her statement," he told them all. "I'll read it out and I'm hoping you guys will act out what I have here and what makes the most sense."

"Who's acting as who?" Castle said, looking at Skye and Darnley.

"Why don't we just go into the house before we agree to that," the former said. Once they were inside and upstairs in the room they knew that Langston and Ashby had been in Skye said, "Obviously you two are going to be them."

"And apparently I'm the killer because we're sure he's male?" Darnley asked.

"Astute," Castle said.

"Do we really have to do this?" Beckett asked them.

"I'm not asking you two to have sex," Brad said wryly. "Just sit on the floor next to the outline of the bed."

Though she wanted to protest, Beckett didn't have the chance as her husband grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto the floor where there was the outline of the air mattress the couple had been using. "So, they had sex," she said, looking at her husband as she spoke pointedly. "And they hear the firecrackers those kids set off."

"So I get up, still naked," Castle said as he was doing so.

"Which means that he was comfortable," Skye said. "It was only a minor inconvenience though I'm sure he was angry since I know Ashby wrote that he wanted to start up again."

"Why are you looking at us?" Darnley said as the investigator was looking at the men.

"How angry would you guys be in his shoes?" Beckett said, getting up before she brushed off her hands.

"More annoyed," Castle replied. "I mean seriously, she was here and not going to move as far as he knew."

"Would he have been able to hear her?" Skye asked her friend.

"Unlikely, she was petite so her step would have been very light," Beckett said. "And she could have snuck up on him." She suddenly though of something and said, "Was CSI able to tell how tall the killer was?"

"It's a guess because they're not sure if the machete was even or held up to stay even," Brad said. "Remember I told you, between five-four and five-ten. Which Ashby fits. So let's keep going until we reach the door to look at that again. And with that Langston goes over to the other room."

Following the chief Skye looked over at the window and said, "They wouldn't have been able to tell he was naked."

"No," Brad said as he shook his head. "They were too far back, and the window sill was up enough for them not to see him. Which they didn't mention. Why?"

"Because they couldn't see the killer," Skye replied. "Now follow me," she said, stepping inside. "I'm Langston, here, yelling at the boys."

"Oh god," Brad said then as he saw what she was getting at. "He could see the door out of the corner of his eye where he was going to be killed."

"I don't think it's Ashby… unless you check her things and find out she has and Invisibility cloak," Skye said. She held up a finger to Castle and told him, "Those aren't real, in development somewhere perhaps but they don't have a practical use."

"Okay you make a point but what about the sound of him being killed?" Darnley said.

"Did you ever get her phone records?" Skye asked.

"She did mention that game," Brad said, as he was getting his own phone out of his pocket.

"She likely had the sound on for that as well," Skye said. "Go ahead," she then said with a nod to the chief before she paced around the room while they all waited for the results of Brad's call, hearing his end of the conversation once it began.

"Could they say if she were playing the game?" Castle asked his wife.

"Yes, but the real question is if it's not played for a while is that noted at all?" Beckett replied.

Looking over at Skye, Castle swore in his mind as he knew she was right and they waited for Brad to finish to see what was found.

"Okay," the chief said. "Not good news for Ashby-"

"She turned off the game before she found Langston," Skye said. "Though I'll repeat what I said again, he would have seen her had she come inside and fought back unlike what the autopsy let us know. Shall we have a test of that then?"

"Alright," Brad said with a sigh before he went to the window. He was looking straight out as he imagined the victim had been before his head turned towards the door as he'd seen a flash of white which was Darnley's shirt. "You proved your point," he said to the investigator. He frowned slightly and said, "Then how do you explain the killer getting inside here?"

"He could have hidden," Darnley said. When everyone looked at him he said, "Here, where the closet is."

"He's lucky they covered the closets," Beckett commented. "And that the vic was here at all."

"Would he have killed Ashby too?" Castle asked his wife.

"Most likely," Beckett said. She was about to ask Brad a question when Skye was saying it, making her look at the investigator in surprise.

"How did the killer get out?" Skye said.

"We never finished this," Castle commented.

"Do you really want to?" Darnley asked.

"And I think we know every…" Brad said. "Hold on. This doesn't work."

"There is a space in the closet," Beckett commented. "They could have gotten out that way."

"You saw the same thing?" Castle asked his wife.

"We all did," Skye said wryly. "If there hadn't been a way out of this closet with the drywall not covering every inch, he would have stepped out," she said, pretending to do so. "Then he would have to slip out to this door so he could get out of sight in time to prepare to get him against the door."

Brad sighed before he said. "We don't really need to think this one out though. He slipped out once he was sure the coast was clear in the hall and likely ducked into the room next door."

"You'll have to ask Ralston about their methods," Darnley then said.

"There's no need," Skye replied. "They worked in groups and the groups focused on the master bedroom first and then started on the other bedrooms before they were stopped."

She's likely right," Beckett said, as the drywall boards were a little haphazardly placed. "It's a coincidence they nearly finished this closet."

"No, I agree," Castle said hurriedly as his wife was looking at him. "But where exactly does that leave us?"

"With a clue," Darnley called from the hall. He wasn't surprised when he heard everyone running over to him and he said, "Right there, some fibers."

Since they were past the room Brad said, "I can see why CSU missed it. And these aren't fibers."

Going around to the room, Beckett went into the closet and she said, "He's right, it's plastic… a tarp."

"A whole one?" Castle asked in surprised before he joined her.

"Just a piece. Brad?" Beckett called out to him.

"Yeah," the chief said. "Stay there and I'll grab a bag and tweezers from my car."

"What do you think this means?" Darnley asked his friend.

"Who knows?" Beckett replied with a shrug. "It was planted, or the killer was hiding out here and tore a piece off. It depends on what the piece itself will say."

"Good point," Darnley replied. He then watched with the couple as Skye was going around the room. "They went through here I'm sure."

"Of course, but they didn't manage to catch that piece you saw," the investigator said. She looked at where it had been between the piece of drywall and the floor and said, "I suppose…" walking over to the hall in time to meet the chief who was walking down it himself towards the room.

"What?" Brad asked.

"Could we tear up the floor?" Skye asked.

"I'll do it," Castle said immediately.

"Hold on," the chief said, holding up his hand to his friend. "What are you talking about?" he asked Skye.

"The tarp, that's not a piece, it's stuck underneath the floor," the investigator replied. Skye then said, "If you're wondering about the tarp the killer might have forgotten about it and it slipped out slightly. With us walking around yesterday…"

"It loosened it up," Beckett finished.

Nodding to her Skye said, "The floor isn't quite secure yet."

"Alright," Brad said. "Help me out with this you guys. I'm not being sexist," he then told the women.

"It's your decision," Beckett replied with a shrug. She and Skye went to the closet, waiting for the chief to look at the boards to decide how to take them off.

"Are you going to take those off with your bare hands?" Castle inquired.

"No, we're going to have to MacGyver it," Brad said with a slight frown.

"There are tools in the trailer outside," Skye said. "We should go get them."

"We should, but it," Beckett corrected her.

"I think they were insulted," Darnley said when the two women hooked their arms together before they left.

"No, they're teasing Brad," Castle said, nodding over to his friend. "Or they're teasing me about the whole twin sister thing."

The chief laughed and then said, "Likely the latter since you're so insistent about it Rick." He sighed and said, "This one's a bugaboo though."

"It is," Darnley said in agreement before looking at Castle.

"Yeah, I agree," he replied in surprise. He wasn't surprised when his friend just stared at him and he breathed out a little heavily before he started to speak when the sound of Brad's radio starting up cut him off.

"Rice come in," the chief said into his radio.

"There's movement in the Ralston house," the officer replied. "But no one's come in or out."

"We're heading out, let Enos know," Brad said before he ran for the front door with the others as Beckett and Skye had rejoined them.

"What about the floorboard?" Darnley called.

Brad called in to Rice and let the officer know that CSU needed to head to the house to look at the floorboard before they reached the two cars. "If there's anything then we'll find out from them," he said.

"I'm fine with letting them take care of it," Castle said, giving his friend a look though he was facing forward.

"Do you think Ralston had a hiding place in his house?" Beckett asked the chief to get the subject off her husband.

"Sounds like it," Brad said. "And if he did then he would build something at the Soverall place."

"I don't think you can call it that anymore," Beckett said. "But something I should have said first, you couldn't go through the house, could you?"

"Of course not, not if I want to keep my job," Brad replied. "For all we knew he could have been there just… hiding but something pushed him now." Before either of the two could say anything, he was pulling haphazardly against the curb outside the Ralston house before jumping out and going swiftly over to his officers while he pulled on a vest as Castle and Beckett stood with Skye and Darnley, the four of them doing the same with their vests.

"You've got something on your mind," Beckett told the investigator.

"He was here," Skye said. "Alone and someone slipped in."

"How can you know that?" Castle asked in amazement.

"Julia told me," Skye said slowly. When she saw the consternation on Beckett's face she showed her her phone and told her, "She doesn't want you to know but you do Kate."

Seeing the message Beckett read _Alfred came here and said someone went into the house and you would know. He has no energy and left._ She breathed out heavily and turned away before saying, "What the hell?"

"She's been interested in the case," Skye began. "I would imagine that Alfred comes to your house every so often."

"Imagine?" Darnley asked doubtfully.

Sighing Skye told them, "I've sensed him there a few times. I wanted to look into your house to see if there was a connection to the farm that was the school. And there was; the property extends to your home so he likely was around the area. But that far out it'll take him some time."

"How would he know about the house?" Darnley asked, looking at Beckett.

"That I don't know but-" Skye started to say before they heard arguing coming from inside the house.

"Beckett, Darnley!" Brad called to them.

"Kate-" Castle started to say.

Shaking her head, Beckett ran after the chief with her friend as she withdrew her gun. She was behind Enos while Darnley was in between her and Bernier, watching the chief hitting the door and calling out to Ralston. When he did it a second time to no response they all prepared for Enos to kick down the door before they ran inside.

"Ralston," Brad yelled out once they were in the foyer.

"Chief, top of the stairs," Beckett said suddenly as she looked from the family room she could see ahead and then up.

"You two follow me up once we come back, cover the body," Brad said before he went with the two officers to clear the first floor.

"We're going up now chief," Beckett said when she heard him calling for an ambulance on his walkie talkie. "Cover me?" she asked Darnley.

"Like I always did," he said swiftly with a nod. Darnley followed his friend up the stairs before passing her to clear the hallway. While she knelt next to Ralston he kept an eye on the doorways that he could see, braced to move if he'd need to though he wondered what shape the man was in.

"Mr. Ralston, do you know who did this to you?" Beckett said, trying not to touch the man's wounds that she could see bleeding around his stomach and chest.

"She…" the man began to say before he breathed out.

"What did he say?" Brad said as he was racing up the stairs.

"Just the word she," Beckett said. She managed to touch his neck and looked at the chief, shaking her head at his questioning glance telling him simply, "He's dead."


	14. Wouldn't Want To Miss It

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _Soft-Hearted Hana_ by George Harrison; from his eponymous album; and _Fish on the Sand_ also by George; from his album _Cloud Nine_.

A/N #2: Fantastic receiving the feedback I did for the last chapter so will go into my thank yous for them! MsNYC (Not surprised you knew that Castle would be pissed at Norling trying to attack Beckett and then him trying to, as you put it, cause ripples between Castle and Beckett. So no surprise that you said it was sad, lol. I was happy that you're glad that Castle and Beckett are secure in each other, since I think they would be after everything they've gone through. Not surprised you mentioned that it was kind of a big break in the case. Or that you thought Eliza was silly, lol. And I was glad you wanted Julia to get to look around the station with everyone since I wasn't sure what the readers would think of that. And nice to read you thought it was a perfect ending to the first half of the chapter. Wasn't surprised you were thinking they sort of had a suspect with Ralston. I'm glad that you though Beckett and Skye were hilarious, lol. Not surprised you agree with Brad in that they were messing with Castle, lol. Happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual! And yeah, they can't really consider Ralston a suspect anymore),

TORONTOSUN (Really happy you think it's a great story so far. And of course, I was pleased that you like how the case is getting exciting too),

Mb (I was of course happy to see you thought the first half was a fantastic update. I wasn't surprised to see you think they're really working together nicely, since you're right as they're investigator in some form and that would help. And I'm glad that you mentioned thought they have a system with their own teams they're able to work together seamlessly since I did want that to come across in the story. You're also right that they've all worked with each other before and currently in some way so that would help. And you make a point that for some of them it helps that in their past life they were either family or colleagues as well. I wasn't surprised that you thought Norling deserved to go to jail with his actions and trying to get Castle in trouble with Beckett as well. It's funny you laughed at Paul going on a bike with the kids to the station, that I took inspiration from a picture I have of him riding a bike; for a magazine article, lol, so I know he does do it. I wasn't surprised you think Alexis and Louis are sweet together, I'm glad you do. Also, not surprised that you think they're becoming more like the loving couples they're around and like Castle and Beckett too, I was waiting for that one, lol. And of course, happy you thought it was a sweet update too. I was glad reading you thought the second half was a fantastic update too. I wasn't surprised you mentioned this half had a lot of information about the possible suspect and the possible motive too. Great I could surprise you with Julia texting Skye that Alfred told her about the house. And you're right, with that area Beckett is still a bit skeptical and I agree with you that she's fearful in a way about it. Nice to read it was a great update. And you're very welcome for sharing!) and

vetgirlmx (Lol, I had wondered what you'd think of the ending of the chapter and really, I wasn't surprised that you weren't that Ralston was murdered. And I can see what you mean about it seeming like it had taken a while for that to happen. You're also right they've done a lot in that time. I also wasn't surprised that you agreed with them saying it was a mess, or that you're hoping it won't take a long time for them to untangle it so they can get back to vacation, lol. I'm glad that you had the thought of Paul going to the station for a tour, lol. And you're right it was a good chance to show what they're doing when they're not writing. I had to laugh at you mentioning it would have been quite a sight of Paul with the girls riding bikes. You're right that it's got to be different going through there without handcuffs on which was why I wanted to write that. I'm so happy you enjoyed the whole dead brother bit as I was afraid that wasn't going to be viewed that well, lol. And I thought the same, lol, it would be something that Castle would have fun with too. Not surprised that you were that Alfred sort of made an appearance in the chapter since there wouldn't really be a reason for him to be there, lol. But yeah, lol, I had to explain why if I had him connected to the school before so I'm glad I did in the end. I wasn't surprised you caught the idea of a narrow pool of suspects with if Ralston was trying to name his killer. But I was a bit with you not being sure you wanted them to find the killer already but seeing you might want a few twists and turns before they reach that point, though I am glad that you said you'd be happy either way. And really pleased you can't wait to find out and now you don't need to anymore!).

Thanks for the reviews, I loved reading all of them and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Wouldn't Want To Miss It

"You think if we called Lanie they'd let her look at the body?" Esposito asked as Beckett came back to where he and Ryan were standing with Castle.

"I don't think Thayer would mind but it'd only be a brief look," she replied. "Plus, she's out or doing something." At the detective's questioning expression Beckett explained, "I called her at lunch, she has a message that she's out for the day."

"Is she still coming with us to dinner?" Castle asked. "I should say them."

"I think so," Beckett said. "I tried to text her, but she never answered so leave her be."

"How is Thayer?" Ryan asked.

"Still the same as the last time you asked us about him," Castle replied. "He doesn't hate me."

"Or me," Beckett added.

"Why would he hate you?" Skye asked in slight amusement as she reached them.

"Since he was here first," Beckett commented, nodding towards her husband.

"What did he say?" Castle asked his wife.

"Stab wounds from something smaller than a machete," Beckett replied. "So knives are our killer's weapon of choice."

"Who's also a woman," Ryan pointed out.

"I don't know if you can take that to heart," Darnley said after he jogged to the group; having spoken with Enos. "I had a case where the guy identified his cousin and it was his best friend."

"He's right but we really should look at everyone again that's a woman," Beckett commented.

"Excuse us for a second," Castle said after everyone had been silent for a moment. He took his wife's arm gently and pulled her with him down the sidewalk enough away from everyone before he stopped her. "You're not mad at Skye, are you?" he asked her when he saw how she was looking at him questioningly.

"No… a little frustrated that Julia would feel better telling her what she did but it's understandable," Beckett said, hesitating slightly at first.

"It doesn't make you a bad mother you know," Castle was quick to say.

"I didn't think it did," Beckett replied easily. "I just need to talk to her when we see them again."

"Hopefully we don't have that much longer," Castle said, checking his watch.

"I know," Beckett said, glancing back at the others. "Come on, Brad's going over to them."

"Okay," the chief said once he was with the others. "I have Enos, Wade and Bernier starting a canvas and I'll be joining them shortly. For now, I need to ask the four of you what you heard."

"I don't think Rick and I can answer that," Skye said, gesturing between the two of them. "We weren't close enough to hear."

"Yeah, I heard two voices," Darnley said quickly as the arguing had continued up until they'd stepped onto the porch.

"Woman, man?" the chief asked.

"Couldn't tell, there was a lot of yelling," Darnley said.

"I'll agree, I couldn't even tell which one was Ralston," Beckett said. "You did tell them to ask about cameras."

"Of course, and to concentrate on the houses behind this one," Brad said. "You guys head back to the station… or if you want to head back to where you're staying or home that's fine. I really don't think we'll have all that much unless we find something during the canvas."

"We'll stay," Esposito said.

"Then I'll be back as soon as we're finished," the chief said. "Can you start getting a list of women we would need to look at?"

"Of course," Beckett said since he was looking at her.

"We should ask, have we cleared Ashby?" Castle asked his friend.

"Yes and no," Brad said. When Castle frowned he said, "I'm not going to keep the possibility of her closed yet. Not until I get more proof than my view from the corner of my eye."

Beckett touched her husband's arm before he could respond, and they went together to their car that Darnley and Skye had traveled in behind Brad's squad car. "You guys don't mind sticking around?" she asked, looking at the two in the backseat.

"No, unless you want me gone," Skye commented first.

Giving her a look Beckett shook her head and then sat back in the passenger seat, watching her husband drive the short distance to the station. She went directly to Brad's office, going to the papers while the boys, Skye and Darnley waited for her and her husband to tell them the names they had which he soon began to say.

"There aren't very many women," Castle commented once they'd finished.

"No, so it shouldn't take all that long really to look into them," Skye said.

"Especially since we did that already," Beckett said. "Let me check where Brad is."

" _Is she mad at me_?" Skye asked Castle in Irish.

Shaking his head, he said, " _I think a little frustrated now at herself. She wants our daughter to look to her; even for this_."

" _Of course she does_ ," Skye was quick to say. " _Should I talk to her_."

With a quick shake of his head again Castle said, " _She'll talk to our daughter_."

Nodding slightly Skye then said, " _I hope she will_."

" _She will_ ," Beckett said as she walked into the room, talking to them first as they were closest to the door. She then looked at everyone else and said, "He's on his way back and they found something."

"How far out?" Castle asked. "And should I bother asking what they found exactly?"

With a brief smile Beckett said, "He'll say when he's back." She could hear the door to the parking lot closing and said, "Which is now." She went over to the doorway with her husband, both of them looking out to watch the chief as he walked rapidly down to his office.

"You know I should berate the two of you," Brad commented once he'd reached them.

"What did I do?" Castle asked defensively.

"Not you," Beckett told her husband quickly. "And you realize we had to check on him, I could see his arm was still moving."

"I realize, but still next time you see that tell us," Brad replied, looking over at Darnley as well. "And we'll check on the victim." He looked at the whiteboard and saw there was a list of female names. Studying it he told the others, "You're going to need to find pairs with those women."

"Pairs?" Beckett said in surprise.

"We got a couple eyewitnesses who saw two people climbing over fences of a few houses," Brad began. "Going away from Ralston's. They couldn't see them as they had hooded jackets on in two different colors and they were going away from them. Of course."

"Are the jackets identifiable?" Ryan asked.

"They definitely are," Brad replied. He held up a picture; that Hutchinson had handed to him on his way to the office; and told them, "This is the Sportswear Breeze hoodie, first made a year ago but only in one store in the area."

"Hamptons Sports?" Beckett and Castle said at the same time.

"It is," Brad replied. "Though it's only from here that doesn't mean there aren't a lot. When Rice called the store they said at least 300 had been made."

"How many were sold?" Esposito asked.

"Every last one," Brad said. "They had five colors all together and we need a hundred and twenty of the grey and a hundred of the white ones."

"I'm guessing you're kicking us out?" Darnley asked.

"At this point, yes," Brad said. "That wasn't my request though," he told the others quickly. "Word got around town… or the area I should say that I have more than Castle and Beckett assisting me. They'd prefer the police themselves to look into the list since those are their customers."

"What about people who paid with cash?" Darnley said.

Shaking his head Brad said, "These were fifty-dollar jackets, so they kept records of everyone buying them."

"That helps," Esposito said.

"I had the same thought," Brad told them. "That it was a set up, but we'll need to see what information we get. We'll look into this tonight but if I get anything I'll let you know. As for tomorrow I'll let you know when you can come in or if I don't find anything until then."

Though she wanted to protest them leaving when it seemed like they were very close, Beckett knew the chief would have to follow the desires of the owner of the stores; that she knew had spoken to Brad. So she instead said, "We'll be in here at nine thirty at least."

"Fair enough," Brad said. "Goodnight."  
When they'd said the same to the chief Castle and Beckett walked out after the others and they headed to their cars before they stopped, gathered together so they could say goodbye to Ryan.

"Hopefully you guys will enjoy it in Southampton," Castle said.

"You could go to the store," Esposito said.

"Oh of course, Jenny would love doing that for no real reason," Ryan said, shaking his head at his partner.

"Tell her and the kids we're going to have dinner all together tomorrow," Beckett said. "Everyone from the city."

"Do you mind us doing that tonight?" Ryan said.

Shaking her head Beckett replied. "You should have the chance to go out on your own here. Enjoy it."  
"We will," Ryan said before he went to his car he and Esposito had driven to the station in.

When the five left had gotten into the car Beckett glanced back at the three there and asked, "Comfortable?"

"Yeah, though why I offered to sit in the middle I don't know," Skye commented.

"Either way you're going to be next to a guy," Darnley said, looking at her.

Glaring at him Skye quickly smiled and then said, "Let's just go home, I want to see my kids."

Since he had already been starting the car Castle pulled out of the parking lot, driving towards home as quickly as he could as he couldn't help thinking of his and Beckett's girls. Glancing at his wife he saw from the look on her face she was as well so he stepped on the gas just a little more, relieved they wouldn't have far to go to reach them.

* * *

"Oh man, I thought I could go," Julia said, looking down at the water where her friend was.

"We have to go," Mari said teasingly. She laughed when her friend growled playfully at her and then moved out of the way, watching Julia jump into the deep end.

"Are they here yet?" Julia asked once she had resurfaced.

"No but your grandparents said we should go since Alexis and Louis left already," Mari said.

"Funny they didn't stay long," Julia said while they were swimming to the steps at the other end. "I would have."

"Well, we're just kids," Mari said musingly as she smiled at her. Standing on the bottom step with Julia she added, "They wanna go be alone."

"Yeah," Julia said. "Come on, I hope my parents are gonna come back soon."

"I thought you were afraid of what your mom was gonna say," Mari replied.

Pausing as she stepped up on concrete outside the pool Julia looked back at her friend and said with a sigh, "Sorta but I do want to see her."

"I don't blame you," Mari said before they got out.

"Go and rinse off girls," Jim called to the pair as he'd remained with them while everyone else had gone into the house.

Hurrying to the shower Julia said to her friend, "Sure you couldn't spend the night?"

"Mommy and Daddy want me at home," Mari replied, not surprised she'd said that. "But we'll stay with each other in Florida remember?"

"Yeah," Julia said with a sigh before she concentrated on rinsing off her hair and body. After they finished and she turned off her shower she took the towel her grandfather handed before she looked up at him with a smile to thank him before she froze with a gasp.

"Hello sweetie," Beckett told her daughter with a smile. "You had fun?"

Letting her mother wrap her towel around her Julia then hugged her as tightly as she could saying, "Yeah but I still missed you."

"I missed you too sweetie," Beckett assured her. "But before we wait too much longer let's go inside so you can take a shower."

Though she was wondering what her mother would say about her text to Skye, Julia nodded and let her mother lead them up to the house. "You are done for the day, right?" she asked.

"We are," Beckett replied, looking ahead of them to where her husband was standing in front of the door to the house.

"Hi Dad," Julia said, hugging him once she'd reached him. "Are we still going to the restaurant?"

"Of course, and soon because there are some kids among us that'll need to go to bed soon," Castle said.

"Josa?" Julia asked, watching in a little surprise as her mother greeted the baby.

"And Eliza and Fleur," Beckett replied after she'd taken Josie in her arms and then kissed her temple as she held her against her upper arm. "So we're going early."

"Is _Tio_ Javi still gonna go?" Julia said while they walked inside the house.

"He's right here," Esposito replied, standing in the hall. "Is Mari?"

"My parents want me to go home for dinner," the girl said.

"It looks like they want you to right now," Castle said when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He checked to make sure about the message and nodded saying, "Yeah, your mom says to go home you can take a shower in your room."

"She's serious," Mari said, looking at Julia.

"I think so," the girl said with a smile. "So… can I walk her back to her house?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said since her oldest and Castle were looking at her.

"Thanks," Julia said before they left the house to go down the steps.

"You're not going to talk to her?" Castle asked his wife.

"After her shower," Beckett said simply, her eye on the two girls.

"Think she'll talk to you?" Mari was asking as they stepped from the grass to the sand.

"Don't know now," Julia said slowly. "But probably, probably after my shower."

"Yeah," Mari said in agreement. She was tempted to ask her friend what exactly she would say to her mother about texting Skye instead of Beckett but decided it was better to not speak. She instead said, "I'm really excited for the 4th."

"Oh, me too," Julia replied. "But Josa's not really gonna remember it."

"No… what about your picture?" Mari then asked.

Since they were already approaching her friend's house Julia quickly said, "We'll take it in the morning. Mom and Dad really want to take this one."

"And the other?" Mari asked.

"That one Mom and Dad want to take around Halloween… in the fall and outside," Julia said.

"With all the changing leaves?" Mari said.

Shaking her head Julia said with a smile as they stopped at the sliding door of the Foster home, "In the Adirondacks, Mom and Dad want to go every fall for a three day weekend at least, Columbus Day. I thought that was a good idea 'cause we'll be with nature on that day."

"Cool," Mari said with a smile. She could see her father approaching the door, so she hugged her friend tightly and told her, "I'll see you on Saturday?"

"Probably," Julia replied with a nod since they were going to have everyone over all day to celebrate the holiday. "Have fun until then."

"You too," Mari said before slipping inside.

Julia hurried over the sand and into her own house, going straight up to the second floor before she disappeared inside her bathroom while her mother was waiting on her bed. She took her shower as quickly as she could and then began to move a little slowly as she'd forgotten what she and her mother were likely going to talk about soon.

"Julia? Are you alright?" Beckett asked after she had knocked on the door.

"I'm fine," the girl said, realizing she shouldn't really delay anymore. Since she was dressed Julia grabbed her brush and then walked out saying, "Brush my hair?"

"Sure," Beckett replied, taking it before they walked to the bed. Letting her daughter stand in front of her she brushed her hair before saying, "You didn't really have to keep from coming out here."

"I guess not," Julia said guiltily. She turned her head to her then and said, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Beckett began. "But I'm a little… frustrated you trust Skye that much."

"Because she would believe me," Julia said before she turned around. "Sorry Mom but…"

Sighing Beckett said, "I would too."

"Sorta," Julia said, not looking at her.

"What do you mean by that?" Beckett asked.

"You would say you do but not really mean it," Julia said, putting her hands behind her back in her nervousness.

"Are you angry that I don't?" Beckett asked.

At first Julia was planning on just shrugging or else shaking her head but she finally said, "A little."

Thinking that over for a moment Beckett finally nodded and said, "I'm sorry about that sweetie."

"That's why I told Skye," Julia said, shrugging her shoulders that time.

Though she was annoyed at how nonchalant her daughter was Beckett tried to get that emotion under control as she asked, "Why didn't you text your dad?"

"Because I thought it would be better, that way he wouldn't have to tell you and then you wouldn't believe me, and Dad would try to make you and you would be annoyed at him," Julia said swiftly.

Beckett was tempted to respond a little angrily, but she could see why her daughter had thought that. She sighed again and said, "I'm not sure I can believe what you see and feel."

"And you," Julia said firmly. "You've felt stuff before and you say no it's just… something else."

Looking up at the ceiling Beckett didn't really have any way to answer to defend herself so she instead said, "I know." Seeing the way her eldest's shoulders slumped she wrapped her arms around her and said, "Why don't I promise you this, I'll try not to be such a skeptic, especially if there's something we experience together."

"Really?" Julia asked hopefully.

"Really," Beckett said with a smile. She embraced the girl tightly when Julia threw herself at her and said, "I need my little girl with me so I know what I'm dealing with."

"Mom," Julia said in embarrassment.

"Do you want me to stop calling you that?" Beckett said, still smiling at her daughter's tone.

"No but what if I'm a grown-up lady and have kids?" Julia asked.

"You will be a grown up eventually," Beckett pointed out to her. "And why're you thinking about having kids?"

Julia related the conversation she'd had with Paul and said at the end, "You don't mind that name?"

"No," Beckett said quickly. "I've always loved the names Paul and George too."

"Good," Julia said. "I didn't think of girls names yet… there are too many I like." She glanced at her mother and asked, "How'd you think of them?"

"I loved the names of rulers," Beckett said simply. "But other names too though I let seeing you all decide for me." At her daughter's smile, she smiled back and hugged her tightly again before letting her go carefully. "So now that you're ready…" she began as her daughter's hair had only been brushed. When Julia nodded she then continued saying, "We should go because your dad and I are giving Josie her bath now; and I want to see her."

Julia took her mother's hand before they went together downstairs and she let go of her before watching as Beckett went over to Castle who was holding the baby, smiling when the former began to talk while she listened to them as well.

"Do we have enough time?" Castle was asking his wife.

"I didn't foresee it taking that long," Beckett replied. "And she's been in the pool."

"I'll follow you," Castle replied simply. Going after her to the kitchen he said, "Should we have told them?"

"I'm sure they're aware, and if not, someone will say," Beckett replied easily as she grabbed Josie's bathtub.

"So… I realize you probably don't want to talk about the case right at this moment but I'm wondering if you thought about Ralston's kids," Castle said.

"I had thought of them," Beckett said with a sigh as she was testing the water. "But they're with their grandparents right now luckily."

Nodding, as he knew she was also thinking of the foster twin girls of their second victim being told, Castle then changed the subject saying, "Are you planning on taking a bath yourself?"

Shaking her head Beckett said absently as she was filling the tub, "Or a shower. I don't need to you. You?"

"I'm good," Castle said, his tone of voice absent as well since he was undressing Josie to put her into the water.

Watching the baby as Josie cooed a little Beckett told her husband, "Go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked. When she just smiled at him he turned his attention to running the water over their daughter, watching her kick her leg once.

"Good thing you weren't wearing your glasses," Beckett told him with a smile as Josie had ended up splashing him a bit.

"Not a problem," Castle said, taking the soap she'd put on his palm and starting to lather it on the baby's body as she was making an ah sound. "Do you want me to wash her hair?"

"Just a bath," Beckett answered before she smiled at the baby since Josie was doing so at them.

Taking the moment he had Castle looked at his watch and said, "We have a lot of time Kate. You can take a shower if you want."

Glancing at him briefly Beckett told him, "No because I need to do something with Skye."

"And is she aware of that?" Castle asked her, rinsing off Josie.

"She is," Beckett replied, getting the towel ready for her husband. "But please try and distract everyone okay?"

"What, her wife and kids too?" Castle asked in surprise, making sure all the soap was off the baby.

"Yes," Beckett replied easily, taking Josie from him and starting to dry her off gently. As she was doing that they went over to the stairs and headed up to their youngest's room where she lay the baby on the bed and continued to gently rub her dry. "Wait," she said suddenly, realizing what her husband had said. "No, not Mary and their kids, they can watch because Mary's going to be with Skye."

"Oh, you expanded it," Castle commented.

"Paul requested it," Beckett replied.

"Okay," Castle said. "I can't go watch? Julia?"

"If you can ask my dad to keep the others from the living room then yes but no more," Beckett replied. "I really don't think that Skye wants an audience. I didn't."

"But you still did," Castle said, knowing she meant the one photoshoot she'd been at during her brief stint as a model.

"Yeah," Beckett said with a shrug. "Alright sweetie," she then directed to the baby. "Time to get you dressed." She carried her to the changing table and got a diaper on her before telling her husband, "You can get dressed."

"Why don't you?" Castle asked simply. "Since you're going to be photographing very shortly."

"Alright," Beckett said, looking down at their baby who was wriggling a little. She smiled and leaned down, pressing her lips to Josie's forehead before waiting for Castle to take her. She kissed his cheek swiftly and left the room, spotting her friend coming off the stairs down the hall. "You're changing?" she asked.

"I am," Skye replied. "Are you sure?"

"I am, it'll be fun because we'll have Mary join you eventually," Beckett told her.

"Oh really?" Skye asked in surprise.

"Really," Beckett assured her. "Paul wants you two to take pictures."

"I better text her," Skye said, hurrying over to the room she and her wife were sharing.

Beckett smiled after her before she went to her own room, dressing quickly in the closet before she stepped outside to find her husband on the bed with the baby.

"Hey, she wanted her mom," Castle replied, smiling at his wife.

"I think it was more your daddy did Josie," Beckett said in amusement before she took their youngest. "Well?" she asked him as he was just staring at her.

"Let me change," Castle said as he nearly jumped up to leave them.

"Your daddy is a little too easy to read," Beckett murmured to Josie, sitting on the end of the bed. She nuzzled her nose with her own and smiled as the baby made a short o sound. Kissing her temple, she said, "But I still love him, don't worry. How did you hear that?" she asked, directing the last to their other two daughters.

"It's quiet," Julia said as she and Eliza entered the room. "You're not gonna wear a dress Mom?"

"Not this time," Beckett said as she was wearing leggings and a rich blue blouse. "But you two look very nice, who helped you Eliza?"

"I did," Julia said, smiling at Josie once they were close enough. She took the baby's hand and let her hold onto her index finger before she took her as her mother handed her over. She was about to ask why Beckett had done that when she noticed where her mother was looking exactly.

"Hey, we're all here?" Castle asked as he'd stepped outside of the room then.

"We are," Beckett said. "Girls."

When their parents started to kiss Eliza looked at her big sister for what she guessed was supposed to have been a warning for them that they were going to do that. Julia just shrugged, and she turned her attention back to the two, not saying anything since it was hard to forget their parents had been at work that day.

After they'd parted Beckett murmured to her husband, " _Sé sin go leor do anois_?" asking if that would be enough, ending with the words for now.

" _Beidh sé a bheith_ ," Castle replied, saying it would have to be. They shared a brief kiss after that before he let her go, going over to their girls as Julia and Eliza were giggling at the way Josie was gurgling a little. "Are you guys ready?" he asked while he took the baby.

"Yeah but isn't it early?" Julia asked.

"It is," Beckett replied. "But I'm going to take those pictures of Skye now. And yes, you can go," she said, adding the last quickly as her oldest had opened her mouth to speak.

"Thanks," Julia said.

"What about me?" Eliza asked.

"Do you think you can play with Maddy and Keo in the family room?" Castle asked her.

"Kay," the little girl said interestedly. When they'd gone down the stairs she ran to the family room, going to her friend who was on Nkosi's lap. "Wanna play with blocks?" she asked eagerly.

Smiling at the way the toddler nodded once Beckett turned to the doorway of the room, seeing that Skye was there with Mary just behind her. She went with them over to the living room, hearing footsteps behind her. When she turned back around she wasn't surprised to see that it was her husband, oldest daughter and Paul before the three McDouglas girls were rushing inside. "Okay, so what exactly do you want?" she said to the singer.

"I think I'd like you to pose them and then have them play the piano together… sing as well," Paul said.

"What, actually sing?" Skye said in a playful Cockney accent.

"Would be nice," Paul replied. "So whenever you're ready," he said to Beckett who was checking her camera.

"Alright, I guess pose with your guitar first," she said to Skye with a smile.

"Which?" the investigator asked as she nodded over towards the guitar cases leaning against the couch in the room.

"Go ahead and choose," Beckett said.

Going around them, Skye soon pulled out a blue Rickenbacker. Going back to the wall next to the piano she said, "How about like this?"

Studying the woman, as she had her hands on top of each other on the headstock once the guitar was standing in front of her, Beckett nodded and said, "You should probably lean forward slightly and then smile."

"Are you sure?" Skye asked.

"I think so," Beckett said, smiling quickly at her. "Ready?" she asked. When the woman nodded she took a few pictures before she then said, "Now wear it and form whatever chord you'd like."

With a quick nod Skye did that and said, "Smiling or not?"

"Let me try with not smiling and then with," Beckett replied. She took a few pictures and then instructed the woman to smile before she took another couple and said, "Get rid of the guitar and then lean your arm on top of the piano."

"Leaning over a little?" Skye suggested. When Beckett nodded she did that before her friend was taking some pictures and asked Paul, "Please tell me that's it."

"On your own," Paul said. "Just a couple with Mary."

"Come on _grá_ , it's not that bad," the woman said to her wife, walking over to her and squeezing her arm gently.

Skye nodded and waited for her wife to sit at the piano before she looked at Beckett suggesting, "Both of us sitting at it?"

"Sure," she replied, standing next to the piano so she could turn the camera towards them. After she had taken the shots Beckett said, "Why don't you turn around Mary, Skye stand and lean against her… unless you want to reverse that."

"No, better the way it was," the former commented. Mary turned around once her wife had gotten off the piano bench and watched Skye walk to her left side, feeling her lean her arm on her shoulder, pressing lightly. "I'm not made of glass," she said, looking up at her.

"Just smile so we can finish," Skye said, speaking through her own smile.

"We're still going to perform," Mary said back.

Beckett tried not to laugh and shake her hands holding the camera as Skye playfully stuck her tongue out at her wife. Once they were settled she took the shots until she was satisfied and said, "Now for your performance," startled when the investigator rushed over to Paul.


	15. Wouldn't Want To Miss It (Part 2)

"You're sure?" Skye asked once she had finished speaking.

"I am," Paul replied with a nod. He took the mandolin that the investigator handed to him and said, "The sound won't be the same. No one here has a ukulele, do they?" directing the question to everyone who had gathered at the entrance to the room.

"No, it should sound alright with that," Beckett commented.

"Do you know what song we're going to do?" Skye asked.

"No clue," Beckett said with a smile.

"Okay, but I think she's right," Skye said then. "Are you ready?" she asked her wife, Beckett and Paul.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Beckett said first once she'd checked her camera again.

"Just count me in," Paul said as he'd be starting with the mandolin.

When her wife nodded to her Skye said a quick, "One, two," before Paul began the opening chords on his instrument. She watched Mary play with him on the piano, waiting for her cue to sing which she took the instant she heard the chords her wife joining her as backup since it wasn't the first time they'd sung it together.

 _I ate it and at once my eyes could see you  
No sooner had I ooped it down  
I felt so far from the ground I stood on_

 _My legs seemed to me like high rise buildings  
My head was high up in the sky  
My skin the sun began to fry like bacon_

Skye was looking around at the others as she sang, keeping her hand on Mary's shoulder at the same time. She winked at Julia as she saw the girl was mouthing the words before she became startled that she knew them at all since the song was one about a mushroom induced trip George had had. She'd assumed the kids wouldn't know about it but since she couldn't stop without having to explain the reason why she continued, the music changing from both her wife and Paul then.

 _And then somebody old appeared and asked had I come far  
And hadn't they just seen me up on Haleakala_

Beckett smiled at Mary trailing Skye on the last word before the investigator began to walk around her wife on the bench, leading her to take several pictures of all three of them before her friend was continuing the verse.

 _I kept on body surfing to pretend I hadn't heard  
There was someone there beside me swimming like Richard III  
And I'm still smiling_

Letting Mary and Paul take the instrumental break there Skye motioned to Julia and murmured into her ear, "Best not sing the next bit."

"I know what the words are, I don't care," Julia said. She frowned and then asked, "What does that look like?"

"It's a dream," Skye said, trying to think of an answer before she settled on that. She then recalled the second line and said, "The-"

"I know drugs are bad," Julia said immediately. "Go, you gotta sing," she said, playfully pushing the investigator back to her wife.

Wrinkling her nose Skye glanced at the girl's mother and saw that she was watching her, shrugging before she and Mary began to sing together while looking at each other.

 _Seven naked native girls swam seven sacred pools  
Lone-ranger smoking doobies said you're breaking all the rules  
Better get your clothes on or else there'll be a row  
If it wasn't for my sunstroke I would take you on right now  
And I'm still smiling_

 _I fell in love with my soft-hearted Hana  
She entered right in through my heart  
And now although we're miles apart  
I still feel her_

 _She lives beneath the crater in the meadow  
She moves among the fruit and grain  
You can meet her after heavy rain has fallen_

Since there was only instrumental at that point Skye sat down next to her wife, facing everyone as she leaned her arm on her wife's shoulder. She could easily see Beckett taking pictures of the two of them and just before the song ended she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, smiling before the two stopped playing. "Thank you," she said to the others who were applauding. "You think you got something?"

"Well… I have no clue what I'm supposed to do with these pictures, but I still managed I think," Beckett said, looking pointedly at Paul.

"I told you I wanted to test your talents," the singer replied. "Do we have enough time for another?"

"We do, about a half hour actually," Castle said, looking at his watch.

"Do I need to keep taking pictures?" Beckett asked the singer.

Shaking his head Paul said, "Do you have another of George's in mind?" to Skye.

"You read my mind," the investigator replied. " _More a fish on the sand_ ," she sang gently so it wouldn't be too loud.

" _Not so much of a man_ …" Mary responded, singing as well before they got up to go to the guitars and amps.

While the two were picking out what they needed and handing drumsticks to Paul, Beckett went to her mother in law and took Josie, sitting on an armchair before she said, "Are you going to play that loud?"

"No," Skye said first. "We just need them to hear the chords of course." She looked over at Paul and saw him trying out the electronic drums saying, "Sorry about that."

"Oh no, better than me rapping on the piano over there," the singer replied.

"How do you know how to play for these songs?" Julia asked as she went over to sit on the couch with him.

"Good to practice besides what you know already," Paul replied. "We're ready."

"So are we," Skye said absently, playing a few chords on her Rickenbacker. "One… two… three," she began before she played them in and they all sang as Paul joined Mary for backup.

 _I know you're in the sun  
I know you're close to everyone  
At times it's like you don't have a hold on me_

 _I see you in the love  
I see you in the moon above  
But I want to know that you're not lost inside of me_

 _You know I need you  
You know I love you  
If I'm not with you  
I'm not so much of a man  
I'm like a fish on the sand_

 _You call me in the night (You call me in the night)  
And hide behind the daylight  
You're blowing like a wind you don't let me see_

 _You know I feel a pain (You know I feel a pain)  
I'm tired of playing games with you  
Though there's nothing else I want that would set me free_

At the short instrumental Beckett couldn't help feeling some slight regret at setting her camera down when she saw it out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head rapidly and discovered that it was Julia, taking pictures of Skye as she was playing the slide more prominently. Seeing her daughter she looked down at Josie, forgetting to check on the baby when the song had started. But Josie was merely staring ahead of her with wide eyes and she wished the baby could at least see the guitar. Thinking that she got an idea and then turned her attention back to Skye while she was singing once more.

 _You know I love you  
You know I need you  
If I can't be with you  
I'm not so much of a man  
I'm a fish on the sand_

 _No use to no one else, they've all dried up  
Watching all our lives go by  
I can't believe you'd want to see me crying_

 _I hold you in my heart (Hold you in my heart)  
I know that you're a part of me  
But it's a must to know that you love me too_

 _I look you in the eye (Look you in the eye)  
You're swimming by my teardrops  
But I want to know for sure that you'll let me see_

 _You know I want you  
You know I need you  
If I'm not with you  
I'm not so much of a man  
I'm like a fish on the sand_

 _You know I need you  
You know I love you  
If I'm not with you  
I'm not so much of a man  
I'm a fish on the sand_

 _Not so much of a man  
More a fish on the sand_

When Skye finished she smiled at her wife at the applause, Julia doing so rapidly near them so they could hear how exuberant she was. She stood up so she could put away her guitar when Beckett called her name. "What's wrong?" she asked as the woman walked to her.

"Mind letting Josie stare at it?" Beckett asked.

"Think she'd be able to see it?" Skye replied.

"Wouldn't hurt to start her now in recognizing instruments," Castle commented.

"We did the same for Eliza," Beckett explained.

"Not a surprise," Skye said, walking closer. Her wife was with her, with the Les Paul she'd played, before they watched as Josie was staring. When the baby began to smile while they played a few chords she said, "I suppose she liked it."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile, shaking her head before she let the two women start to put away their instruments. She was startled when the baby began to whimper, and she said, "I'll be right back."

"Go Dad," Julia said, having been watching her father staring after Beckett while she left. She smiled when he looked at her and said, "I can tell you want to go; you'll play with us later of course."

"Of course," Castle replied. "Come with me?"

Shaking her head Julia told him, "You can be alone with Mom… and Josa."

"Thanks," Castle laughed before he squeezed her shoulder and then went to Eliza to kiss the top of her head. He asked her if she wanted to go with him upstairs but wasn't surprised when she shook her head as she was playing with Maddy. He hurried up to Josie's room, seeing his wife looking at the doorway before she spoke to him once he closed the door behind him.

"You realize I'm going to be suspicious of you doing that," Beckett commented wryly.

"What about you? Sitting on the bed like that," Castle replied teasingly. He sat next to her and then explained, "We were working for a long time."

"We were, but that doesn't mean we didn't kiss," Beckett said simply.

"Now you're teasing me," Castle said.

"I know," Beckett said, unable to help smiling. She reached for her husband with her free hand and pulled him over to her before they started to kiss. She was surprised that it was so gentle but quickly discovered what he wanted to do when he deepened it. She was quick to go along with him, parting her lips to his searching tongue feeling his hand on the back of her head before he caressed her hair. "Wait," she said, pulling back with a soft gasp as Josie was almost crying since she'd finished at her breast.

Castle knew he should let her move the baby without him doing anything to her, but he couldn't stop himself, leaning over to kiss her temple and lightly nip at her ear. When she gasped he said, "Not sorry."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said, glancing back at him. Since the baby was set she reached for him and murmured, "You'll pay for that."

"Oh, you didn't like it?" Castle asked in amusement. When she kissed him, he fought back his laughter and literally threw himself into kissing her until they would need to pull away.

"We better stop," Beckett said once they had pulled apart though he didn't move too far away from her.

"Yeah," Castle said, taking the towel that was over her shoulder to place it onto his. When he saw the way she was looking at him he said, "I want a turn."

"Oh, don't sound like a little kid when you say that," Beckett said with a laugh before he was doing the same and then leaned over to kiss the side of her head. At that moment Josie pulled away and she handed her over to Castle, watching him beginning to burp the baby.

"You know I'm surprised you picked out that top," Castle told his wife as he watched her fix her camisole and then pull on the blue blouse over it.

"I had a feeling she'd nurse before we left," Beckett replied. When she saw the way her husband was looking at her she said, "Okay, I hoped she would. But she won't need me until later and I did want to wear this."

" _Leat breathnú iontach_ ," Castle said seriously, standing up when she was finished to go over to her.

Smiling as he'd said she looked great, Beckett kissed his cheek before she paused at the soft burp from their baby. "At least I know you're doing what you're supposed to," she said teasingly. She was surprised when he just nodded before she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something from our past life," Castle said. He then looked confused and said, "I don't know why; it doesn't have anything to do with this moment."

"It's not the first time it's happened," Beckett replied. "What did you see?"

"You want me to tell you?" Castle asked since he knew they would need to go.

"Yes," Beckett said simply. "Because I need to check her diaper before we leave."

"Okay," Castle said. "They were all older, where I'm seeing. It's 1936 so Julia's about fourteen, Eliza nine, Alexis was eight and Josie was six. I was apparently watching them all as you weren't there… you went into the city," he said quickly.

"And they ran you ragged?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"No," Castle replied, not surprised she had guessed that.

"Tell me," Beckett replied.

"I played the same mad dog game I've played with Julia and Eliza now," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when her eyes widened slightly and said, "It's a fun game," before he started to relate to her what he'd been able to see of their past life with their girls.

* * *

 _"Where are we gonna go?" Alexandra asked her sisters._

 _"I think we need to hide," Julia said, trying not to smile and ruin the game that she was going along with to help their father. She couldn't stop herself from laughing shortly when her sisters cried out at a growl outside the living room before they ran to the couch to hide behind it._

 _"I need food," Rick growled as he entered the empty room. He knew where his daughters were already but tried to look around everywhere until he said, "Give me food!" jumping behind the couch. He grabbed Josephine before she could escape and swung her around as the little girl started to laugh._

 _"Da?" she asked, looking at him._

 _"Yes?" Rick said, laughing when the little girl squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I am back," he told them. "I need to be because I almost couldn't find you."_

 _"Where's Ma?" Alexandra asked as they gathered around him._

 _"She should be back soon," Rick replied. He looked at the three of them and said, "You'll enjoy the fabrics she picks, right?"_

 _"I will," Julia said._

 _"That's because you chose it the last time you were there," Rick said with a smile. "But until she's back would you like to have your snack?"_

 _"Outside?" Elizabeth asked hopefully._

 _"Alright," Rick said as it was chilly with autumn settling in but sunny that day. He took them to the kitchen where he had them pick out their apples before he took his jackknife and went into the back with them._

 _"Da?" Julia asked as she sat next to him on the bench their mother had put in the garden he'd made for her._

 _"Yes honey," Rick said simply._

 _"When will Ma be back?" Julia said._

 _"I don't know," Rick replied as he handed the peeled apple to Elizabeth. "But she deserves to have a day to herself. Well, herself and your aunt."_

 _"I hope they had fun," Alexandra said, waiting for her apple._

 _"I'm sure they did, they're two crazy sisters," Rick said, smiling when the girls all laughed._

 _"Are we crazy sisters?" Elizabeth asked._

 _"Not around us, wait until you're older," Rick said before he took Josephine on his lap. "Easy lass," he told her as she wriggled so she could get down. "You need to eat with me."_

 _"What can we do Da?" Elizabeth asked._

 _"What you like," Rick replied. "Don't eat and run!" he called to the three oldest as they took off for the garage._

 _Taking the apple slice her father gave her Josephine said, "Wanna see Ma."_

 _"I know but like I said she needs to have her own time," Rick replied. "And once she's ready to come home I know she'll be coming straight to us."_

 _Josephine smiled and nodded before she and her father split the apple she'd chosen. By that time her sisters were getting their kites and she hopped down with their father's help to hurry and join them, Rick leaning back to watch as he waited for his wife to return._

 _"Look!" Alexandra cried out after they'd been flying their kites for some time. She and her sisters stopped to watch the Model Y coming down the driveway before they ran together to the garage where their mother was parking._

 _"Hello everyone," Kate said after getting out, smiling at her daughters. "You missed me?"_

 _"A lot!" Elizabeth said eagerly, hugging her first._

 _"I missed you as well," Kate replied, hugging her daughters in turn. She embraced Julia last and said, "Help your da?" softly into her ear._

 _"Yeah, he's missed you too," the young woman said with a smile._

 _"Then we should see what he's up to," Kate said, taking Josephine's hand and leading the way out to the backyard. She saw her husband standing on the path that led through the grass to the garden and with a smile said, "Lead feet?"_

 _"Like stones," Rick replied, walking up to her before he handed her one of the last roses that were in their garden._

 _Kate took the flower but didn't look at it, instead she wrapped her arms around her husband, holding him tightly as they began to kiss though their daughters were gathered all around them._

 _Taking her littlest sister's hand, Julia watched the other two to make sure they wouldn't interrupt their parents. Shaking her head at Alexandra, who was about to wrap her arms around their mother, she then glanced up at the two and saw that they'd parted and were just embracing._

 _"You're still all together," Kate told her husband eventually._

 _"Julia was a big help," Rick replied as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. Realizing that he was trying to touch her through her coat he said, "Should we head inside."_

 _"Of course," Kate said with a nod before they went together to the house, taking their daughters with them. Once they were inside she let her husband help her with her coat before she said, "Drat, I forgot the bag with everything."  
"I'll be back," Rick told her, squeezing her hand for a moment before he left the house and went to the car, taking the bag his wife had in the passenger seat. "How much did you get love?" he asked her when he was back inside. He stopped suddenly and said, "We were going to take care of that for you."_

 _"I'm not all that tired," Kate said simply, peeling a potato for dinner. "And I'm not making everything you palooka."_

 _Laughing Rick set the bag down on the kitchen table before he hurried over to their refrigerator where he grabbed the trout he'd caught the day before for their dinner and then one of the larger bottles of milk for the girls._

 _As they were cooking together the family didn't really speak, just working until the meal was ready and the girls were getting the table in the dining room ready leaving their parents alone._

 _"Might I see what you bought?" Rick asked his wife as she went to where the bag was._

 _"You might," Kate said with a smile. When her husband's arms wrapped around her from behind she said, "We have to eat."_

 _"Hmm," Rick replied, speaking into her hair. When she turned around he said, "Later as well."_

 _"Fresh," Kate said though she felt suddenly over heated when he nuzzled at her neck, exposed by her hair up in a chignon._

 _Rick was going to kiss her when he could hear the giggling of their daughters getting closer to them. He squeezed her tightly once and then said, "Is everything ready for our fish?"_

 _"It is Da," Elizabeth said. She and her sisters followed their parents to the dining room where they sat and then watched their father help their mother into her seat. When they were eating she said, "When can we see our new dresses Ma?"_

 _"Soon," Kate promised them. "But you'll all have to help me."_

 _"Even me?" Alexandra asked._

 _"What about me?" Josephine asked eagerly._

 _"You'll practice some stitches," Kate replied. "You'll have to have a little more practice," she quickly said to her youngest's disappointed look. "It's not very easy making a dress."_

 _"You can watch us," Julia suggested._

 _"And I'll make a Peter Pan collar for this one," Kate said._

 _"Oh, really Ma?" Josephine asked happily. When her mother nodded she jumped out of her chair to go around to hug her, thanking her repeatedly._

 _"You're very welcome honey," Kate told her. She kissed the side of her head and then said, "Go sit back down we're nearly finished."_

 _Nodding rapidly Josephine went to her seat and then smiled at her father saying, "What about you?"_

 _"Me?" Rick asked._

 _"What will you make for Da?" Alexandra asked as she knew what her sister was wondering._

 _"I got him something else," Kate said._

 _"But I don't need anything," Rick said in surprise._

 _"You'll see," Kate told him simply._

 _When the family finished they worked together to clear the table though Alexandra and Josephine were allowed to take the bag with fabrics over to the family room. After they'd promised not to peek inside they hurried together to it, talking about what their mother might have picked._

 _"I wonder what she got for Da," Josephine said to her sister._

 _"Me too," Alexandra said before she noticed their father was walking out to them. "Da! Da you can look now!"_

 _"Not just yet, your ma is getting some milk for you," Rick explained. He sat on the couch and took Alexandra on his lap saying, "You want one of those collars honey?"_

 _"No, I asked Ma if I could have a sailor suit dress," the little girl said. "I hope she will make one."_

 _"Are you going to sew?" Rick then asked._

 _"Just a bit," Kate answered, coming into the room then. "Alright Julia, take out the first bolt."_

 _"You bought the whole thing?" Rick asked in shock._

 _"Sap," Kate shot back though they would joke about that occasionally. "That's for you my love," she said as Julia took the pinstriped patterned blue fabric to him._

 _"This is swell," Rick said, studying it closely. He smiled and kissed his wife's cheek; since she was sitting next to him; and told her, "You have an eye."_

 _"Thank you," Kate replied. "This is mine," she said, taking the fabric that their oldest was giving her._

 _"That's the bee's knees Kate," Rick commented as he held the polka dot dark blue fabric. He thought of something and said, "Do we all have blue?"_

 _"If the girls don't mind," Kate replied, smiling at them. "That's for you Josephine," since Julia had brought out a lighter blue fabric with a deeper red floral print on it._

 _"It's beautiful Ma," the little girl said with a wide smile._

 _"This is mine Ma?" Alexandra asked, smiling herself as she saw the next fabric which was dark blue knowing already it would be fashioned as a sailor suit on the bodice._

 _"If you like it," Kate answered. "And that's yours Elizabeth."_

 _"This is swell Ma," the little girl replied, studying the white fabric with blue polka dots._

 _"Good," Kate said quickly before she watched Julia take out her own fabric._

 _"Oh Ma!" the young woman said happily._

 _"I still think you and Elizabeth should wear something darker for winter, but you promised to help me sew," Kate told her oldest since it was white and blue in thin stripes._

 _"I will," Julia said earnestly._

 _"You did a smashing job Kate," Rick told his wife while they were watching their daughters comparing their fabrics._

 _"It was fun," she replied with a smile, leaning against her husband._

 _"How's your sister?" Rick asked her._

 _"Swell, she bought some fabric for Mary," Kate said with a smile. "She let my sister choose. Rose picked out a light green with little white flowers."_

 _"Should be nice," Rick said though he had no idea what that fabric might look like._

 _Kate nodded before she got up and went to the kitchen to grab some popcorn to make on the stove in time for their radio programs. Her husband followed her, and they took the chance to kiss a bit before they returned to their family, remaining close to one another all the while._

* * *

 _"You're lucky the girls didn't offer to go to the car," Rick told his wife jokingly._

 _"I wouldn't have let them," Kate said. "Even though I could have just told them that the bag was in the front." When she saw her husband, laying on the bed, still looking up at the ceiling she cleared her throat and said, "I had to buy it ready made," turning to show off her nightgown._

 _"That looks awfully small," Rick said though he didn't sound disapproving in the slightest._

 _"Oh, you're right… I suppose I should rip-" Kate started to say before her husband was suddenly grabbing her and pulling her tight against him as he'd been walking to her. "So you don't mind?"_

 _"Will you just wear this for me?" Rick responded with a question of his own. When his wife kissed him, he held her tightly and said when they parted, "You're the bee's knees love."_

 _"So are you," Kate said, reaching for his vest he was still wearing. She pulled it off and said, "I also forgot something."  
"Oh?" Castle asked in surprise._

 _Kate carefully pulled away from her husband, walking over to the bed where she got on it and then raised the bottom of her nightgown. "My stockings… I don't want to tear them," she explained._

 _Shuddering at his wife's innocent tone; knowing she was anything but; Rick hurried to her and pulled his shirt out from his trousers. That done he grasped his wife's leg and began rolling the delicate fabric off her legs, kissing and licking at her limb hungrily at the same time._

* * *

"Licking too?" Beckett asked her husband as he stopped there.

Nodding Castle said, "I know it's gross to you now but back then-"

"I never said I thought it was gross," Beckett interrupted him, speaking firmly.

"Oh… would you want me to try that?" Castle asked. When his wife merely smiled at him he was shuddering in pleasure before he said, "And after that things went…"

"Well," Beckett told him, smiling.

"You can see?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he leaned down, kissing her tenderly on the lips before saying, "We were amazing together my love."

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett said before she bit at her lower lip for a moment. " _Tá súil agam go mbeidg orainn a bheith_ ," telling him she hoped they would be too.

" _Déanfaimid_ ," Castle said simply and firmly, that word meaning we will. He kissed her again, a little harder than he'd intended too. But when his wife's tongue slipped into his mouth he knew she didn't mind and they were soon fighting together playfully. He knew they would have kept that up for a long time if there hadn't been a knock on the door, jolting them apart.

"Are you two coming along with us?" Martha said from the other side.

"We're just finishing up Mother," Castle said swiftly, hoping he wasn't panting too hard that she could hear.

When she was sure her mother in law had left Beckett said to her husband, "We're going to need tonight."  
"I know," Castle said seriously, smiling at her as she laughed softly. He pushed aside his sudden and swift desire for her with how she looked and then walked after her to the door so they could meet their family and friends for their dinner together.


	16. Don't Want To Stop

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna_ written by John Lennon, from Ringo Starr's album _Goodnight Vienna_.

A/N #2: There are two femslash scenes in this chapter, to warn anyone again who wouldn't want to read them. The first one is in the first flashback but there's a line break before that love scene starts and the second is in the second flashback- that one of the past life.

A/N #3: I was happy to get feedback for the last chapter so will get to my thank yous for that! vetgirlmx (Really nice to see first off that you thought the last chapter was very good. Not surprised that you were hoping they'd be home soon, or that you wanted Beckett and Julia to talk about the text she sent to Skye. And I figured you'd know what she'd say, you also got how I see it, she wouldn't really be less of a skeptic though for her daughter's sake she'd give it a try. I'm happy that I wrote the whole photoshoot with Skye and Mary, lol, and great you could imagine how the photos came out. Not surprised though you're wondering now what Paul will do with them. Of course I was pleased you enjoyed the flashback a lot, and really I think at this point with as much as Castle is remembering there wouldn't really be much reason for recalling, any memory would come. Though I'm happy you thought it was a very nice memory. I'm not surprised you think it's fun to see the differences with the girls, it is fun to write something different with them, especially with Alexis being second youngest there and Julia the oldest. So of course, I'm glad you think that's all fun! I'm not surprised you thought the dinner was going to be there, but I wanted to go with something different that time, lol. But I'm glad that, even if the dinner isn't going to be there, you're still eagerly waiting for the next chapter, and now you don't need to anymore! And I agree, lol, all of them there is just way too much fun as you said!),

TORONTOSUN (Glad to read you thought it was great writing as always. And I'm so happy that you like the interaction between Skye and Paul since I love getting to write that!),

Mb (Great to read that you thought the first half of the chapter was nicely done. And not surprised you mentioned it might be a woman doing the murders since they were using types of knives for the murder weapons. Your supposition about the two figures is interesting and it does makes sense though you'll have to see of course how that turns out, lol. Not surprised you laughed at Skye asking Castle if Beckett was angry about the text but I was happy that you thought his response to that was spot on. I also wasn't surprised that you were laughing at Julia and Mari talking about Alexis and Louis leaving and then if Julia would talk to her mom about the text. And then I laughed when you mentioned Beckett's ninja skills when she surprised Julia at the pool, I'm glad you enjoyed that. Great you thought it was a good talk between Beckett and Julia's talk about why Skye and not Beckett or Castle. And you got what I was doing with Beckett concerning spirits, being skeptical and fearful about believing in that. It did take time for her to believe in their past life you're right about that. You also got something that I've thought of myself, her fearing perhaps seeing or not seeing her mother, it seems like it would be something she think. But you're right, she does have that gift especially when it comes to knowing when something is happening with her kids and Castle. I'm not surprised you're thinking of negative spirits with the kids, but I have something in mind with that I'll mention in the future. But you're right, that would definitely scare Beckett since it's hard to protect from spirits like that. Really happy that you loved Castle and Beckett with Josie, but also their other children as well. Great to see you thought it was a sweet and funny photo shoot, since of course I wanted that to turn out well. I'm so pleased you think Beckett would have a good eye for photography since she has to have an attention to detail being a detective and writer and as you said a love of photography instilled in her at a young age from her father. Great you thought it was a good, good update for the first half. And you're welcome for posting it! Really pleased to read you thought the second half was a sweet update. And I was happy that you loved the mini concert that Paul, Skye and Mary put on, lol. Great that you could easily see it and picture it too since I wanted to convey them having fun and being free and easy as you said. Not surprised to see you laughing at the bit with them busted by Martha, lol. Of course, I was happy reading that you loved the flashback. And that you think that even in the past Castle and Beckett are hot and sexy. Also, that they're good parents both in the past and present. Great you liked how All The Lonely People is bringing them closer to Skye and Mary and their family. Really happy that you love how Skye and Mary plus their kids are like how Castle and Beckett are, lol, it was hard seeing them any other way. And not surprised you can see them stealthily signing copies of their books, lol. But great you thought the second half was nicely done. And you're welcome for posting the second half as well!) and

MsNYC (I was surprised you mentioned the gender for the killer, or that you want them to close the case so they can have some fun. Yeah, Beckett's definitely a skeptic, you're right about that. Though with the point you made about not wanting people to know things about your child first it makes sense you'd understand how Beckett feels. I had to laugh at your comment about posing for the camera, lol, but interesting you mentioned the photoshoot. I wasn't too surprised you were excited about chapter 15 mostly being a flashback but of course I was happy you were too. And I'm pleased you thought the flashback was cute and the ending was cute too. And not surprised you think Martha knew what they were doing, really it wouldn't be hard to realize since she knows them, lol. And nice to see you thought it was great writing as usual!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I enjoyed reading them and am very grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Don't Want To Stop

"I don't like this," Esposito said to Castle and Beckett as he sat down in the living room with them.

"You don't like the performances?" the latter said in surprise.

"Not that, Lanie," Esposito replied. "And don't say she's got a fiancé."

"Speaking of fiancé," Castle said. "You talked to Dylan like we did."

"I'm sure she's fine," Beckett said calmly as the detective didn't look too reassured. "They probably took a cue from Ryan and Jenny and spent the night on their own. Their wedding _is_ coming up."

With a quick nod Esposito said, "I'm going to take a taxi back to the hotel."

"Now?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Later, I'm interested in seeing this… Are you sure she's going to perform?" Esposito asked.

"They and probably," Skye commented as she and some of the others followed. "I'm surprised you two aren't going to have dinner there again."  
"No, we're letting Lily take care of it," Beckett replied.

"She's quite a good cook," Paul said, coming inside last with his wife. "We don't need to perform this second do we?"

"No, we have drinks," Castle said since he'd made some fruit punch in anticipation of the fourth to try out. "But what about that special dessert?"

"The cookies? We're saving them," Beckett told her husband.

"Okay," Castle said quickly. "Then you guys can play now."

"What will we do?" Erin asked her cousins.

"We can't really play all together," Julia said thoughtfully, looking at Maddy. Keo and Josie were already asleep upstairs, so the toddler was the youngest one of them awake. "Unless you wanted to play Candyland."

"I'll play with her," Eliza said.

"Are you sure?" Julia asked. "You don't have to."

"I will," Eliza replied easily with a smile before she went over to her friend.

"What does that mean for us?" Marie said. Before Julia could say anything her littlest sister was going over to their mother and she smiled as Fleur was soon settled on Skye's lap. "The rest of us," she said to the girl questioningly, waiting for her to suggest something as she was obviously thinking.

"We can play hide and seek," Julia said.

"Try another one," Beckett said. "I don't want you running around."

"Can the dogs?" Julia said instead.

"Sure," Castle said. When he saw that his wife was looking at him he asked, "What?"

"If they start barking?" Beckett replied.

"Then you should play in here," Castle said. "And by that, I mean tug of war… just be careful you don't accidentally throw anything around."

"We won't," Julia said with a smile. She went to the family room with her cousin and friends to get the toys for the dogs before they returned to everyone else.

As the kids were playing together Paul turned to Skye and said, "What'll you be singing?"

"Are we on our own?" the investigator asked with a smile.

"I think you mean you _grá_ ," Mary said. She was smiling herself when her wife turned to her and told her, "I'd like to rest."

"Jazz tunes?" Skye asked.

"You have an acoustic guitar as well," Martha said.

Skye couldn't help laughing and she said, "If that's the case then let me consider what I will sing myself." She then looked at Paul and told him, "You'll help."

"Sure," the singer said. "But let me know ahead of time."

Skye saluted before she felt Fleur tugging on her sleeve making her ask, "What is it _mon petit_?"

"Sing now," the little girl said.

"I guess I should," Skye said in amusement before she stood up and handed her youngest to Mary before she sat at the piano before the kids were all gathering around her to her laughter.

"What about _Fourth of July_?" Julia suggested.

"Bit too dour lass," Paul said as he stood up to go over to Skye.

"Should I sing something different?" the investigator asked.

"The BeeGees? ABBA?" Castle suggested.

"I'll call a taxi," Esposito said, pretending to get up from his chair.

"No, not those," Skye said, shaking her head though she was smiling. "Something from Ringo."

"Ah, let me get my phone, he'll want to see this," Paul said quickly.

"Does he like when Skye sings his songs?" Eliza asked, having gone over to the piano as well by then.

"I think so," Paul replied before he heard the first few notes the investigator was playing. "That one?"

"Aye," Skye said. She started playing lower tones quickly before adding others and then began to sing as her daughters, Erin, Mari, Julia and Eliza started to jump around together holding hands.

 _I took my baby to a party last night  
She was so beautiful she made me uptight  
Up come a butcher with her ju jus alright  
It's all da da down to Goodnight Vienna_

 _Felt like a bohunk but I kept up my cool  
Green as a frog, man I was back into school  
Zipped up my mouth 'cause I was starting to drool  
It's all da da down to Goodnight Vienna_

 _Get it up (keep it up), get it up (keep it up)  
Get it up (keep it up), get it up (keep it up)  
It's call da da down to Goodnight Vienna_

 _She said me loved me, but I knew she was lying  
Felt like an Arab who was dancing through Zion  
Don't call no doctor when ya just feel like crying  
It's all da da down to Goodnight Vienna_

Stopping there Skye shook her head and said, "I wish I could ask John about that line about the Arab and why he used bohunk."

"I don't know…," Paul said. "But you did well on it."

"Thank you, means a lot since I just had this," Skye said, indicating the piano.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt but we need to put Maddy to bed," Darnley said.

"Are you going to turn in?" Beckett asked him, standing up quickly as she saw the toddler was asleep.

"I think so, who knows what we might end up doing with the case," Darnley replied. "So, you don't have to perform anymore."

"I might play one song," Skye said. "But best you get up to bed and get some rest. We might do the same."

"But we don't have to go to bed yet," Julia protested.

"It's a little later," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "But not just yet though your sister does need to go to bed."

"Come on Eliza," Castle said, going over to pick the little girl up. When she didn't protest he wasn't surprised so he went over to his mother, giving the little girl to her to allow her to say goodnight first.

"Why do I have to go to bed?" Eliza asked Martha once she was on her lap.

"Your friends are going to bed too," Castle's mother replied. "And it's your bed time as well."

"Past that," Castle pointed out. He wasn't surprised when Eliza frowned at him before he turned towards Julia since she was tugging his hand.

"Do I have to go to bed too?" the girl asked him.

"You'll have to ask your mother," Castle replied, since he'd seen the time and knew Beckett would normally be having their daughter preparing for bed by then.

"How come we're so late?" Julia asked him.

"We spent a long time talking at the restaurant," Beckett said, walking over to them. She placed her hand on Julia's shoulder and told her, "You do need to get ready for bed, but you can write in your diary."

"Thanks," Julia said. She glanced at the other kids and sighed saying, "I have to say goodnight too don't I?"

"That would be nice," Beckett replied.

"I might head to bed myself," Paul said, going to where she was standing.

"Okay?" Beckett asked him.

"Bit tired, swimming and biking to your station…" Paul started to say before he trailed off. "By the by, no one seemed to be all that shocked by me. Time to hang my hat?"

"Oh no," Skye said, walking over. "I think they were and trying not to show it." When Beckett looked at her she said simply, "Hutchinson," waiting for her friend to recall.

"She asked if you'd autograph a piece of paper for her wife; she's a fan," Beckett said swiftly when she recalled almost instantly.

"Just a piece of paper?" Paul asked in surprise.

"She doesn't want to seem too…" Beckett said, trying to think of a word but failing.

"Like a crazed fan?" Skye supplied.

"Well…," Paul said slowly. "She's not really, if she had been she would have raced to the station." He saw the way Beckett and Skye looked at each other and said, "What is it?"

"She'll be seven and a half months pregnant," the former said first. "With twins and she's on bed rest."

"Ah," Paul said in understanding. "Well I'll have to sign something for her… maybe a note or something like that."

"It's up to you," Beckett said with a smile before the singer left them. "Are you going to bed?"

"You?" Skye asked.

"I know Josie's going to need to be nursed… at some point soon," Beckett began. "Rick and I were going to have some tea, go out to the gazebo. You're welcome to join us."

"We might do that," Skye replied with a nod. "I'll ask Mary after we put our girls to bed."

Beckett nodded and went to the entry since her husband had said goodnight to everyone who was going to their rooms. She hugged Esposito goodbye and said, "I'll let you know if Brad contacts us."

"I appreciate that," the detective said. "But besides the brother what connection do the two have?"

"The jackets at this point," Castle commented.

Esposito nodded and said, "Thank you for the dinner, I'll see you guys."

"Hold on, I'm giving you a ride," Castle told him.

"Just let him," Beckett said firmly, smiling as the detective looked like he was ready to protest. When they left to go out to the driveway she went on the foyer stairs to join everyone else in the hall where they said goodnight to each other. "Will you write your entry now?" she asked Julia.

With a quick nod, the little girl went over to her room where the twins and Erin were, on the air mattress in the middle of the floor. "I'm going to write in my diary really quick," she said to them.

"We're just talking," Kathleen said with a shrug.

Julia nodded and went to her desk to get everything ready before she checked the date and began her entry by writing that down.

 _July 2_ _nd_ _, 2020  
The next day diary and I don't have too much to write about really, but I wanted to put something at least… two things I mean._

 _First earlier I went with Paul, the twins, Erin and Mari over to the station on our bikes. Yeah, Paul went on Dad's bike over to the station to get to see it. I thought it was kinda funny he did that 'cause he was arrested in Japan I know, and he got in trouble in Scotland but I don't know if he went to jail over there too. I guess he just wanted to see it not being in trouble; it must be different._

 _So we went, and I was just gonna show them the lobby when Mom and Dad came out and then we went inside to show the others. We saw the bullpen and then the place where Mom and Dad shoot guns for practice. Then we looked into Brad's office but just really fast. I saw the boards that were there but just the backs, I bet that's where they put down stuff about the cases. I wish I could have seen that 'cause I need to know for writing, but I know that Mom won't let me. We also saw Uncle Kevin and Tio Javi in the break room before we looked at the lobby better and then we left. It was really fast but it was nice to get to show where my parents work._

 _There's another thing, later I was swimming with Mari and the others before I saw Alfred by the statue thing of Shiva and Parvati. I ran around there, pretending to be looking for a lizard when he told me that someone got into the house. I knew really fast that it was about the house Mom and Dad were at… but I don't know what house, just it was the house. So I texted Skye 'cause I knew she would tell them and she did. When I saw Mom again she was kinda mad, but I told her it was 'cause I didn't think she would believe me at all. I was really… I don't know the word that's not annoyed but I kinda was that because like I said there's a lot and she just ignores it. But she said that if we experience something together she'll believe it_

Julia looked at her pen and then sighed before she wrote again just under her unfinished sentence.

 _I just hope that she will. So we're all home and dinner was fun at the restaurant, Auntie Lanie was supposed to be there with Dylan (I almost forgot, they're gonna get married really soon so I will need to call him Uncle Dylan… I like that name) but she wasn't. I hope they're both okay!_

 _I'm gonna stop now 'cause the twins and Erin are giggling and I want to find out what they're talking about!_

"What is it?" Julia asked after she'd put her diary away and was with the three on the air mattress.

"I asked if Erin ever kissed a boy," Kathleen asked.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked, looking at Marie as she was rolling her eyes.

"She likes girls," Kathleen commented.

"I do," Marie replied.

"Do your moms know?" Julia asked, trying not to show her surprise though she'd always thought she would be like mothers in that way.

"Yeah," Marie answered. "So I don't want to kiss a boy."

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Erin asked.

Shaking her head Marie said, "I don't want to just kiss a girl; I want to kiss a girl like our moms do. Because they love each other."

"Are you gonna wait to kiss someone," Julia said.

"I think I might," Marie said, smiling at them. "But let's talk about something else 'cause I'm the only one who doesn't like boys."

"Sure," Kathleen said quickly. "What about the trip?"

"What about it?" Julia asked, shaking herself.

"What do you think about getting to wear the robes?" Marie asked.

"I can't wait," Julia said. "I know they have the Hogwarts Express… sorry."

Shaking her head, her sister following her, Marie said, "We know the Florida one has more."

"But we really like ours," Kathleen added. "Since we got to see it first. But we want to see the train-"

"And Gringotts," Marie added.

"And Honeydukes," Erin said happily, having never been to either of the parks.

"And the Gringotts ride," Julia finished.

"Luckily you guys can go on that one," Castle said, walking into the room with Beckett and the other three girls' parents.

"You're back already Dad?" Julia asked, standing up and smiling at him.

"I am," Castle replied. "Esposito told me to drop him off so I did… otherwise I think he would have just jumped out of the car."

Rolling her eyes while the girls giggled in response Beckett then said, "You guys need to head to bed though so we're saying goodnight."

Since there were so many of them the girls were standing saying goodnight to their parents until finally they were tucked into the beds by Beckett and Mary. Since they had done so much that day they nodded off, one by one on the air mattress and Julia's bed which allowed their parents to head outside into the hall.

"We're going to our room," Brennan told them. "Bit tired after spending the day with them at the pool."

"Understandable," Beckett said with a smile. "We'll see you in the morning."

After saying goodnight to the couple Skye turned to Castle and Beckett and asked, "Are you still planning on having that tea?"

"We are," Beckett said.

"Are you making it?" Castle asked her.

"It'd be no different if you made it," Beckett commented, looking at her husband.

Shaking off his startled look as quickly as he could Castle said, "I expected her to say that."

"Let's go, we're going to wake them up talking here," Mary suggested to them.

The four went down to the kitchen together where Skye started to make the tea without saying a word to the others.

"The thing is you have to know when to pull the tea leaves," the investigator commented.

"Can we ask about Marie?" Beckett said after watching the investigator.

"There's nothing much to say on that," Skye replied easily.

"Has she come out to you?" Castle said.

"She did, not too long ago in fact," Mary said. "She was terrified doing it… I suppose it being not us she was afraid what we would think knowing that she's a lesbian."

"She's only nine," Castle couldn't help saying.

"That's right," Skye said easily. "That doesn't matter. You don't have a set age finding that out."

"I realize," Castle said quickly. "You don't mind?"

"She's not about to start dating," Mary said, smiling as she and her wife shared a look realizing what he meant. "Or kissing or anything like that."

"I'm just worried she might hold back," Skye said then, taking the kettle off the stove before it could whistle for very long. "Knowing that that's what I did."

"We talked to her _grá_ ," Mary told her wife. "And like Rick said she's only nine, as she grows up she might not do the same as you."

"I'm hoping," Skye said. "At least in the fact she'd shy away from someone she might love," she explained to Castle and Beckett.

"That makes sense," the latter said. "But really was there anyone you might have been with?"

"Besides Sarah? No," Skye said, smiling slightly at her wife.

"I knew about them," Mary said when the other couple looked quickly at her. "But again _grá_ , we'll see where things go with her. And we also have Kathleen to watch… and Fleur."

"Yes…" Skye said, pouring the last of the tea that had been steeping for a while. "We should go."

Walking out to the gazebo with their mugs the four sat looking across at each other with their spouses before Beckett said, "Something I've wanted to ask you and never really found the time to. What was your engagement like?"

"I'm not surprised you thought of that," Skye said with a smile, nodding to the ceiling of the gazebo. "But you're right, we've never told you about it."

"Go ahead," Mary said with a smile as her wife had turned to her.

"Okay, so it was in the fall and we were in the Huntington Library and Gardens," Skye began. "Should you go back there we'll take you… should have your girls go it's an incredible place."

"I've heard of it," Castle said. "That it's very wealthy and a lot of gardens."

"We were going through them ourselves," Skye said with a smile when Beckett looked at her to obviously tell her to continue. "And we'd come to the Japanese Garden at my insistence," she said, smiling a little wider as she very easily recalled that moment.

* * *

 _"Why are we going straight here?" Mary asked her girlfriend as she was almost dragging her along after her. "You don't want to go to the Rose Garden?"_

 _"Not just yet," Skye said with a smile back at her. "Something was calling me to come here first."_

 _"Okay," Mary said, slightly laughingly as she raised her camera to take pictures since they were at the walkway looking down on the garden. After she'd taken a few she said, "It looks so amazing in the fall, doesn't it?"_

* * *

"When was that?" Castle asked.

"November first," Mary said.

Narrowing her eyes at her wife; though she was doing so playfully; Skye said, "We had the time to go that day so I thought the Japanese Garden would be the best place, but I didn't pick it since that's the same day; though a month later; as my birthday."

"It's an interesting coincidence," Mary told her in amusement.

"Also, kind of sweet," Beckett replied.

"I know," Mary said, nodding rapidly with a wide smile on her face.

"I decided on the garden since we had talked about taking a trip together and we decided to go to Japan for our first one since she'd always wanted to go. So anyway, back to the garden at that moment," Skye said as she smiled at her wife, wrapping her arm around her waist.

* * *

 _"It is, it's why I love coming here at this time of year too," Skye replied._

 _"I wish I'd done that before," Mary absently commented before she grabbed her girlfriend's hand and took her down the nearest path near the half moon bridge there was._

 _"Without me?" Skye asked teasingly. She was startled when her girlfriend turned to her with a serious expression on her face and she said, "I'm just-"_

 _Mary cut her off by pressing her lips very gently to hers before moving away and telling her, "And I'm glad now I didn't."_

 _"_ Aishiteru _," Skye murmured, which was a way of saying I love you in Japanese. She had taught it to Mary first off though she explained it was a more serious form of I love you and not said too often._

 _"I love you too," Mary replied, squeezing her hand tightly. She looked around and said, "Let's keep walking?"_

 _"Yeah," Skye told her, pulling her down the path to the side of the garden._

 _"What's wrong?" Mary asked with a soft laugh as Skye stopped abruptly. She was taken aback when her girlfriend suddenly kissed her and hard, making her grasp at her arms a little weakly before she recovered. "Maybe we should've stayed home," she said as she felt how firmly Skye was holding her._

 _"Not yet," she replied. Skye then took her by the hand and led her over to where there was a bench, having her girlfriend sit there first before joining her._

 _"Skye-" Mary said, frowning at her when her girlfriend was suddenly grasping her hands tightly._

 _"Mary," Skye said, trying to keep her voice steady. "_ I love you so much… so deeply _," she then said in French. "_ That I can't think of not being with you, just like this, years into the future. I want to make you as happy as you've made me so I'm asking you with all my heart and soul; will you marry me _?"_

 _Looking down at the white peony bloom her wife was holding in her hand Mary laughed tearfully as there was a silver ring with a blue topaz gemstone surrounded by smaller diamonds in the middle of it. "Yes, of course I will Rose," she said before leaning over and kissing her deeply._

 _Holding the flower carefully in her left hand Skye made sure to hold it flat as the other held onto her fiancée. When she was looking at Mary she said, "So…"_

 _"You're changing your mind?" the woman asked with a smile._

 _Shaking her head, Skye grabbed the engagement ring she'd bought for Mary and then her fiancée's left hand. Sliding it onto her ring finger she said, "Hopefully that will convince you."_

 _"I think it does," Mary said, studying the topaz and diamonds. "And it is beautiful, thank you." She brushed her lips against Skye's before she said, "There's just something missing though," trying not to smile at how perplexed her fiancée appeared at that before she dug into her bag._

 _"Missing?" Skye asked in concern. "You didn't want the diamonds to be bigger, did you?"_

 _Pausing Mary looked up and with a smile said, "Not my ring… it's alright I called it that isn't it?"_

 _"I gave it to you so it's yours," Skye said, watching her going back through her bag again. "Do you still want the flower?" she asked._

 _"Yes… and I'm assuming we're going to the Chinese Garden next?" Mary asked. "Ah," she said before her fiancée could answer her question. "Here it is."_

 _Taking the blue cloth pouch Skye was tempted to question what it was but she soon felt something solid inside. It was also light and after she had shaken the pouch she smiled at the silver ring that fell out. It was a thinner band than the one she'd given to Mary, a gemstone surrounded by diamonds as well though hers would be a sapphire since it was her fiancée's birthstone; the topaz her own. "It's beautiful," she murmured as she let Mary slip it onto her ring finger. "We're engaged," she said with a smile._

 _"I know, and I also know where we're going to have the ceremony or whatever it is," Mary said, jumping up. "Come on."_

 _Skye couldn't help laughing at the way her fiancée took her hand and pulled her through the garden and then back out. She didn't say anything while they were walking before they were at the Rose Garden. When they stopped at the tempietto she said, "Here?"_

 _"You said you always loved this spot," Mary said. When Skye threw her arms around her she staggered back a little before laughing and embracing her back. "I'd like a small ceremony."_

 _"Me too," Skye said with a sigh. "My dad and your parents… a few friends?"_

 _"Literally a few," Mary replied before they parted._

 _While they held hands, Skye looked down at the ring on her finger; since she was holding her fiancée's left hand; and then with a smile said, "Why don't we celebrate?"_

 _"Did you make reservations at the tea room?" Mary asked knowingly. At her fiancée's nod she said, "Then lead the way," before they walked together over to the small building nearby so they could spend some time closer together though they wouldn't be alone quite yet._

* * *

 _"We seem to be dragging each other around a lot today," Skye said as her fiancée was pulling her after her into their room._

 _"Is that your dad?" Mary asked her when she heard the text alert on her phone._

 _Checking it Skye nodded and said, "He sent his congratulations to us both."_

 _"Tell him you'll call him tomorrow," Mary said. She smiled when her fiancée looked up at her and told her, "Seriously."_

 _"Okay," Skye said, her voice slightly strained as she was aware of what her fiancée wanted to do. She sent her message to her father and she and Mary waited for a moment before she said, "I guess he's okay with that," when there was no response._

 _"Good," Mary replied easily before she reached for her blazer she'd been wearing. As Skye watched her she stopped when the jacket was off and said, "Are you okay with this?"_

 _"Yeah," the investigator replied._

 _"Great, I'm going to give you a treat," Mary said swiftly._

 _Having a hard time speaking for a moment, Skye took a moment before she asked, "What do you mean by treat?"_

 _Mary shook her head before she reached for the bottom of Skye's t-shirt and pulled it off her. When her fiancée reached for her blouse she smiled and said, "No hesitation?"_

 _"Well when you tease me with a treat…" Skye replied, trailing off jokingly. When Mary's blouse was discarded she leaned over to her and brushed her lips against hers. She was intending that to be a gentle kiss before they froze at that moment and then went back to one another, capturing each other's lips at the same time before they held onto one another._

 _"Argh," Mary complained. She brushed her lips quickly to Skye's and explained, "I hate our bras right now."_

 _"Oh… I'm not surprised," Skye said with a smile before they helped each other take them off. When their upper bodies were bared she paused and said, "Why are you doing this for me?"_

 _"As a thank you for proposing," Mary replied._

 _"You thought you would need to?" Skye asked wryly as she opened the fly of her jeans herself._

 _"No, but I'm so happy that you asked me," Mary told her. "It was very romantic."_

 _"Sitting on my… I mean…_ grá _," Skye moaned as her wife was reaching into her panties as she'd moved around to stand behind her._

 _"It was perfect and what I wanted," Mary said with a smile before she was kissing at her fiancée's shoulders. "Oh Skye… you'll belong to me, won't you?"_

 _"Yes," Skye breathed out as she was gently stroking her clit._

 _"As much as I'll belong to you," Mary said, carefully moving her hand away._

 _"Thank you for adding that," Skye said before she turned around. "And stopping too."_

 _"I don't want you to get off yet," Mary said simply. "And we need to undress."_

 _With a smile Skye did so for herself while she watched her fiancée doing the same. Once they were naked she found herself being pushed back to the bed and said, "Now you're shoving."_

 _"Lay down, I'll be right back," Mary replied easily before she went to the dresser where they kept their clothes._

 _Leaning back against her pillows, Skye watched her soon pull something out of a drawer and she shot up saying, "You…"_

 _"Do you not want to try this?" Mary asked, showing her the toy for them that she'd bought. "This one I'll wear for you by the way."_

 _"What about the one I'll have?" Skye said while her fiancée walked back to her._

 _"It's a darker blue; I was thinking of buying green but that would be… odd I guess," Mary said. "To me anyway. Now, help me put this on."_

 _Skye nodded and waited for her to step into the straps, feeling they were lined with fabric which made her look up at her fiancée in surprise._

 _"More comfortable," Mary said simply. Once everything was set she smiled and said, "Well… what do you think?"_

 _"You look a woman with… with a cock," Skye said, watching her fiancée as she bit her lower lip at that last word. She reached out and touched the length of her saying, "It's impressive. How do you feel?"_

 _"Odd, especially looking down at myself and seeing my breasts along with this," Mary said, smacking lightly at the faux appendage. "But it's what I wanted to try out."_

 _"We haven't done that yet," Skye said softly._

 _"No," Mary said in a similar tone before she moved over, making her fiancée lean back on the bed before she pushed them both onto the mattress fully by moving. "Hmm, Rose," she breathed before they kissed._

 _Skye was trembling at the way her fiancée was speaking and how she was touching her body. She reached underneath the length that was against Mary's body and found her clit, rubbing it very gently before stopping at her touch. "Will you make love to me?" she murmured._

 _"This first time, yes," Mary replied. "Help me," she told her before they reached down to her pseudo member at the exact same time._

 _Skye couldn't help laughing softly as their fingers were spending more time tangling together instead of what they were supposed to be doing. She didn't mind though as it was still enjoyable, but finally her fiancée was moving to slide slowly in her. She gasped a little at first but then closed her eyes as she got used to the length. When Mary asked if she was alright she nodded rapidly and relaxed, feeling her starting to thrust before her fingers were moving along her clit._

 _The two made love then, Skye reaching up to Mary to try and pleasure her in whatever way she could. Once the former climaxed Mary withdrew; as she knew her fiancée preferred not having something inside of her at that point, and she rubbed her lovingly as she watched her go through the rest of her pleasure._

 _"Mary," Skye breathed once she had come back to herself. She reached up for her wife, pulling her down to her so they could kiss which they did hungrily. Once they'd parted she said with a smile, "We'll have to do that to you now."_

 _"Third person? A little bit narcissistic aren't you_ grá _?" Mary asked teasingly._

 _Skye got up and rushed to the dresser that her fiancée had directed her too, grabbing her own faux phallus before she and Mary made love again that time with her pleasuring her fiancée._

 _When they were both satiated, Mary had her arms wrapped tightly around her fiancée before she said, "We're getting married soon aren't we?"_

 _"Probably," Skye said with a smile. "But during the spring."_

 _"Oh of course," Mary replied, leaning up to kiss tenderly at her cheek and jaw. "When the roses are back."_

 _"Yes," Skye said simply as her wife was touching her at the same time she'd been speaking. She moved then, turning to lay on top of her fiancée and all thoughts of their wedding were gone for the time being as they lost themselves in their lovemaking again._

* * *

"You know I'd like to see that spot where you got married; in person of course," Beckett said, smiling at her friends.

Shaking herself, as she and Mary had stopped telling the story together when they'd mentioned leaving the rose garden for lunch, Skye felt a little embarrassed that her mind had gone all the way to when they'd gone home after the visit to the complex. But since it'd been enjoyable she wasn't too surprised, she only hoped that she and Mary; who she could tell had been thinking about that as well; weren't showing any signs of what they were ruminating on. "It's a great place, along with the artwork they have," she finally was able to say.

"We'll have to stop there," Castle said. "But I hate to say it, I'm a little surprised you proposed too."

"I had to gather… a lot of courage," Skye said.

"I could tell," Mary said, smiling as Castle and Beckett looked over at her. "But it was still very sweet."

"Did you keep the peony she had the ring in?" Beckett asked.

"We did, we dried it out and then put it in a frame," Mary said.

"You've seen it," Skye commented.

"That small frame in between the two windows to the north?" Castle said. When the women nodded he thought about that for a moment and said, "It works."

"There are a couple of meanings," Beckett said as her husband looked at her.

"The bashfulness," Skye said in amusement. "Though it was more because she likes the flower."

"Not roses?" Castle asked.

Shaking her head Mary said, "Too on the nose."  
"I like to be different," Skye commented before her wife kissed her cheek as Castle and Beckett laughed slightly at her winking to them.

"Did you finish your tea?" the latter asked as she was watching the investigator.

"I did," Skye said, looking down at her cup. "But there's something I wanted to ask, about the case."

"Not a surprise," Castle said. "And I think we're all wondering about the case."

"Have you considered it might be Ralston?" Skye asked.

"The target?" Beckett said in response. When the investigator nodded her head she said, "It's possible, I think Brad was thinking that too. Remember he was looking again into his life."

"But there's also Langston," Castle said.

"He's considering them both of course," Mary said. When the other three looked at her she couldn't help laughing and shrugging saying, "I felt like I should contribute something. But I'm tired so I'm going to head up; who knows what'll happen tomorrow."

As Skye stood up, Castle and Beckett did so as well and once inside they cleaned up and went upstairs where they said goodnight to each other, splitting up from there after they'd done so to go to their rooms rapidly.

Locking the door to their room behind them Skye felt her wife's hand on her shoulder and turned around, looking at her questioningly before Mary was suddenly moving to her surprise.

"Were you thinking the same thing as me?" Mary said softly, her arms around her wife's waist.

"I think so but before we go any further let's get inside more," Skye said with a smile. "We're on the door again."

"Sure," Mary said though she reluctantly let her go. "I'm glad we didn't accidentally mention what we did after."

"I don't know how we could, that was an extremely private moment," Skye replied, taking off her blouse.

"Do you need to work tomorrow?" Mary asked as she was watching her wife closely.

"I do, they might need me but I'm hoping things will finish," Skye answered, removing her trousers next. She smiled at her wife and said, "Well?"

"Oh, now you're dictating this," Mary said but in an exaggerated tone that made both laugh. She took off her sundress and said, "I wish we had them here with us."

Shaking her head Skye didn't reply verbally to that, instead she took off her bra and panties before reaching for her wife. They were kissing hungrily and as soon as they had parted she told her, "Better they're not. And I'm remembering something," her voice low with her desire as her wife looked at her in surprise.

"Remembering… you mean that past life?" Mary asked, confused before she realized what she was talking about. "Oh really?"

"Just came to me," Skye said, shrugging her shoulders as they hadn't really seen much of that themselves. "But we were seventeen," she began. "Remember we'd met at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition two years before."

"I know," Mary said with a smile. "Keep going but here," she then told her wife, pulling her over to the bed as they'd finished undressing fully by then.

"Alright," Skye said, climbing up onto the mattress. She held her arms out to Mary and took her into her grasp before she said, "I went to your home, it was in the northwest part of the Sunset District, and your parents were in Los Angeles for two weeks." She paused as her wife was kissing at her neck but then continued, realizing she was seeing it as well when she continued.

* * *

 _"Are you sure it's alright I stay here?" Rose asked her friend as she was placing her valise on the bed in the room she'd been given._

 _"Thank you, Gordon," Mary said, nodding to her parents' butler. "You can have the rest of the day off, we won't need anything else."_

 _"Very good Miss," the older man said, bowing and leaving._

 _"Come on," Mary told her friend once she was sure the butler was downstairs. She took the handles of the valise and then Rose's hand before rushing with her over to her own room which was on the third floor as well, looking out on the Pacific Ocean. "Isn't this wonderful?" she asked after locking the door._

 _"It is," Rose said, taking her bag so she could unpack it finally._

 _"Oh no," Mary said, reaching for the bag again. She put it down and was going to hurry to kiss her sweetheart before Rose was beating her to that. She was a little startled before she recovered and then responded, their tongues a little shy in their meeting between their mouths at first. After some time, they slowly parted and she said, "Come on."_

 _Rose let her lay her onto her back on the bed and she spread her legs as far as her skirt would allow. With Mary laying in between them they were kissing passionately, and she wrapped her arms around her. They had been playing with kissing each other ever since three months after they'd met when they had discovered they were hopelessly in love with one another. But they hadn't done more than hold each other doing that, so feeling her sweetheart against her was more than she could handle. "We… what are we doing?" she asked._

 _"I don't know," Mary said, biting at her lower lip for a moment. She sat up on her knees and said softly, "We'll share this bed."_

 _"Yes," Skye said. She then reached for the buttons along the left of Mary's blouse and said, "We're going to ruin our clothes. And anyway, I have a new dress for you."_

 _"All for me?" Mary asked._

 _Rose nodded before she and her sweetheart started to help one another with their blouses and skirts. When the last of their clothing was on the floor she kissed Mary lightly as they hugged. It didn't last very long as they were gasping at the first touch of their bare bodies and she looked down at her sweetheart's figure. She was going to speak when she stopped herself and then got onto the bed before Mary was laying on her as she'd been doing before._

 _"You're so soft," the young woman said in amazement, brushing her fingertips against Rose's breasts._

 _"You too," she replied with a smile that kept shifting as she was responding to her sweetheart's touch. Rose eventually reached for her hand and stopped her before she said, "What now?"_

 _"I like to touch here," Mary said, showing her sweetheart what she did to herself._

 _"Me too," Rose said, blushing. "Should we do that to each other?"_

 _"I think so," Mary replied, nodding rapidly. "But first…" she began before leaning down at taking her right breast with her mouth. She heard Rose crying out in joy before her hands were on her hair. Pulling away she raised her head to look at her sweetheart before she said, "I nearly forgot."_

 _Scrambling a little so she could fully sit up, Rose looked on while Mary took her hair down from its bun and the rich locks fell nearly to her waist. She took her hair in both her hands before pulling them over Mary's shoulders. She studied the way the locks covered her pert breasts and she smiled before leaning down, suckling her sweetheart's nipples in turn through her hair. "Mary," she breathed as the young woman brought her up to her. They kissed leisurely for a few minutes before she told her, "Leave mine?"_

 _"Oh no," Mary replied, taking it down._

 _Rose smiled and then let her hair fall past her shoulders as well, not as long as her sweetheart's but enough to cover her breasts too._

 _The two girls laughed softly at the sight of their mounds and the nipples peeking out from the hair before they wrapped their arms around one another and hugged gently, moving against each other. The room filled with moans of delight as they reacted to the shock of their bodies touching before they lay back once again._

 _"Right there," Rose told her sweetheart as Mary was touching in between her legs. She guided her hand until she was moaning again at what the young woman was doing to her. It took her a little time, but she finally reached up to do the same to Mary. Their fingers were hesitant at first but once she and her sweetheart were surer of themselves they were kissing and loving one another pleasurably. Her first orgasm not initiated by her own hands was breathtaking and she was pleased when Mary was with her in that as well. They held onto each other, something pushing them to thrust against one another before they slowed down and stopped._

 _"Rose," Mary breathed in joy as she lay next to her and wrapped her arms around her sweetheart. She kissed her deeply while they held each other, her hands searching around before she could stop herself. She half expected Rose to protest but a second after that thought went through her mind her sweetheart was touching her. She was intensely pleased, and they continued in that manner before they moved and began their pleasure all over again._

 _As she was above Mary and was thrusting against her lover's leg, Rose was more than a little happy they were going to have all that weekend alone together. She tried to think of what they were going to do next before they broke again together, crying out and holding one another to keep from stopping until their bodies had taken everything from each other._

* * *

"Were we like that all weekend?" Mary asked her wife.

Shaking her head Skye said, "We explored it a lot, but mostly in the morning and at night after that Friday. We would walk around the neighborhood together and even went to the beach that was closer to your house. So it was very nice."

"It was," Mary said.

"You saw too?" Skye asked, moaning a bit at the way her wife was lightly stroking her breast.

"A little bit," Mary replied. She then leaned over and kissed her wife saying, "We enjoyed it."

"We'll enjoy it now," Skye said, moving to lay her wife down so she could get on top of her. With a slight laugh, she and Mary touched each other intimately, working one another up so they could do their memory one better in their desire.


	17. Don't Want To Stop (Part 2)

"Brad replied to me," Castle said, looking over at his wife.

"What'd he say?" she asked, taking off her robe as she was next to the bed before she stopped as she realized he was standing. "Rick?"

"Hold on," Castle told her quickly. "He said to leave him alone and get some sleep."

Beckett laughed softly and said, "I guess we should."

"You really want to do that?" Castle asked her while he took off his glasses.

"What did you have in mind?" Beckett said with a smile as she'd been teasing him. She wasn't surprised when her husband kissed her gently on the lips before she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Tell me."

"Here," Castle said, leading her to the armchair he'd moved to the windows. Sitting he had her sit on his lap before he wrapped his arms around her and said, "I have something different in mind."

"What are you thinking?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Think of something," Castle said simply.

Beckett brushed her lips against his lips before she told him, "How do you know I have anything for you?"

"Just an idea," Castle replied with a shrug. "Do you have anything though?"

"I do," Beckett said with a smile. "It's in 1934, we were taking the day off meaning we had left the kids with my mom and you weren't writing your show."

"What did we do?" Castle asked interestedly.

"Not that," Beckett sighed though she was quickly smiling at him. She leaned against him and said, "Though that was during the night but I'm not going to go over that."

"Are you sure?" Castle said.

"Very, not when we're going to do our own after I tell you about this," Beckett said firmly. When he reached underneath her shirt to press his hand to her stomach she smiled and kissed him tenderly before she said, "Are you going to interrupt me?"

"I'll be good," Castle said hurriedly.

"Good to know, I might have to reward you later," Beckett said teasingly. "Anyways," she said, looking at him pointedly. When he removed his hand from her stomach she said, "Good boy."

"You're going to kill me," Castle said with a smile.

"Not yet," Beckett said, leaning over and kissing him gently. They started out slowly before they soon together made it deeper until the need to breathe became too great. "Should I continue?" she asked him as they pressed their foreheads together.

"You didn't start," Castle said.

"I have to give you some background, don't I? Or are we just going to say, body dead?" Beckett asked jokingly.

"I don't want Tarzan to be the narrator," Castle said off handedly before she rolled her eyes. "What else should I know?"

"We were in San Francisco," Beckett told him. "Going to the Palace of Fine Arts though we didn't really do much there except walk."

"Sounds like it was fun," Castle said.

"It was," Beckett said, not saying anything else as she turned her attention to the memory.

* * *

 _"Wouldn't want to go see if there's a tennis match love?" Rick asked his wife, holding her close._

 _"No, let's keep walking," Kate said simply, squeezing his arm where hers was looped through. They walked together over to the lagoon, looking at the buildings across the way. "We're going to see my sister you know," she finally said when they were nearly at the end of the pool of water._

 _"I know, want me to get a cab?" Rick asked her._

 _"Oh no, we can walk," Kate replied. When her husband looked at her she smiled and said, "Come on." They walked up to Mason Street and headed west on it until they heard a plane above._

 _"Is that your sister?" Rick asked, looking above at the plane that was passing them._

 _"I think so," Kate said, shaking her head as she laughed. "We'll find out soon I'm sure."_

 _With a quick nod Rick walked with his wife rapidly before they got to the field, waiting at the barracks where they knew Rose would go to once she was off her plane. "Are we spending the day with her?" he asked._

 _"No, I just wanted to stop and see her before we go to Union Square," Kate explained._

 _"Hello everyone," Rose said with a smile as she took off her aviator's goggles. "How're the kids?"_

 _"Swell," Kate said, hugging her twin. "Mary?"_

 _"Good," Rose said with a smile. "Ma?"_

 _"She's fine, Julia will help her of course," Kate replied before they turned at the sound of a woman calling to her sister._

 _"Go," Rose told the two. "I'm off with her."_

 _"What about Patrick?" Rick asked her._

 _"He's gone up the coast," Rose replied. "So we're going home."_

 _"Have fun," Kate replied, hugging her sister one more time. They watched her nearly run to her sweetheart and she said wryly, "I suppose she decided it was a very short visit."_

 _"I think so," Rick said. "Now I should get us a taxi."_

 _Kate didn't reply, merely took her husband's hand before they went back to the main street nearby the field. Once they were in the cab she said to him in Irish, "_ You don't want to go to the home _?"_

 _"_ Your sister said she was going _," Rick said in surprise._

 _"_ They're going to _Mary's," Kate cleared up for him._

 _"Oh…_ no, let's not _," Rick replied quickly. "_ No, we can wait until we get home, right? Our home _."_

 _Kate smiled at his insistence and asked, "_ What gives _?"_

 _"_ I want to spend the day with you _," Rick said honestly. "_ Take my girl out and show her off _."_

 _Squeezing her husband's hand tightly, Kate said, "That would be swell," speaking in English but very softly._

 _When they had reached the square Rick was quick to pay for their ride before they stepped out in front of the St. Francis to watch a cable car going by. "Want a ride?" he asked her._

 _Shaking her head Kate was about to ask him where they could go when he was taking her and pulling her with him before they were stopping at a shop on the north side of the square. She wanted to speak again but he was holding the door open so she walked inside and when she saw what exactly the store was she turned to him, determined to speak when he interrupted her yet again to her amusement._

 _"Pick anything you'd like," Rick told her._

 _"Why don't you pick? Isn't that how you usually do that?" Kate replied._

 _"Okay… then stay here, I'll be right back," Rick told her in a rush before he went over to the flowers that were in front of them._

 _Staying by the door Kate watched her husband walking around, looking at everything in the florist's. She was amused at how serious he was while doing that but did her best not to show it as it didn't take long for him to return to her, holding out the posy that he'd made for her. "Thank you," she said with a smile, sniffing at the rosebuds. "What would you like?"_

 _"Nothing," Rick said firmly. "_ At least not yet _," he said, taking her hand and speaking in Irish._

 _"The home-" Kate started to say._

 _"Not yet," Rick interrupted her. "Come on," he told his wife before they stepped outside. When they were on the sidewalk he said, "Should we take some food to Oney?"_

 _"I think so," Kate said with a nod. "Is he still over by Chinatown?"_

 _"According to Brad yeah," Rick replied as they started to walk over to Walter's down the street._

 _"How is he?" Kate asked._

 _"Busy with his new lady friend," Rick said._

 _"Think he's serious about her?" Kate asked._

 _"He may be," Rick replied. He stopped suddenly on the corner of Geary and Powell before he told her, "He asked me; a long time ago; to be his best man if he ever got married."_

 _"Is that a problem?" Kate asked with a slight smile._

 _"No," Rick replied._

 _"Rick," Kate said simply as she knew there was more to that than his simple answer._

 _"Brad wants you to meet her," Rick told her._

 _"I'd love to," Kate said firmly since she was friends with her husband's former partner._

 _"Okay I'll telephone him soon," Rick said with a slight smile. They continued to the café and he ordered some food before he and his wife made their way back to Union Square._

 _At an alley off Stockton Street near the intersection of it and Bush Street on the way to Chinatown; Kate watched her husband walk down to a makeshift structure that was covered with dark fabric. She heard him talking to the transient inside it; a man who was a veteran of the Great War as he was; before he came back out to her. "Is he alright?" she asked him as they held hands walking back down the street._

 _"He is, Brad brought him some blankets the other day," Rick said with a nod. "He had a man there with him, said his name was Branson, they'll share the food," Rick replied. Sighing he said, "There's a lot of veterans in the same shape."_

 _"We do what we can my love," Kate said, as it wasn't very hard to ignore the men on the corners of the street selling fruit or the lines at soup kitchens affected by the Depression. She then said, "If not for you we would be with them… the girls and I in some Hooverville and you trying to get enough for us to survive."_

 _Rick squeezed her hand firmly before he said, "We'll be alright love."_

 _Nodding Kate didn't say anything else as they made their way back to the café to get their own lunch which he'd ordered while they were picking up the food for Oney. With the hamper in hand they made their way over to Alamo Square by taxi, going to the grass across the street from where her mother, sister and brother in law lived along with Mary. When they were eating she said, "We'll go home after this?"_

 _"We will… I shouldn't have mentioned O-" Rick started to say._

 _"Shh, it's alright," Kate told him gently, resting her hand on his shoulder. "It was a lovely day."_

 _"Very short," Rick said. "But I would like to see the girls."_

 _"So would I," Kate replied with a smile. "Unless Ma took them out for sundaes."_

 _Laughing shortly Rick nodded and said, "I bet she did." He watched her take a bite from her sandwich and told her, "You're a Sheba Kate."_

 _"Now you want to go to the house?" she replied easily._

 _With another laugh Rick leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips, their tongues meeting briefly before he sat back and looked at her. "We've been married for years love."_

 _"Eight later in December," Kate replied with a gentle smile. "Are you still happy?"_

 _"I'm still a sap," Rick said firmly. "For you."_

 _Kate kissed him that time before they parted, and she said, "I'm the same for you Rick." She pressed against him tightly and murmured to him, "I love you."_

 _"I love you too Kate," Rick replied and with that he wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing her deeply though they wouldn't be able to spend much time doing that. He found he didn't really care as she was holding onto him just as tightly before they slowly parted and stood up to go into the house across the street._

* * *

"I thought you said we didn't do anything?" Castle asked his wife in surprise when she stopped.

"I thought so too but I guess I was wrong," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "Mad at me?"

"No," Castle said before he stood up and then carried her to the bed before he laid her down. Following her in getting on top of it he immediately kissed her, holding her with one hand before their tongues were meeting and dancing together. He didn't know how long they were doing that but once they'd parted they were a little breathless and he was going to ask what she wanted to do when she leaned up and began to kiss his jaw before talking at the same time she was doing that.

"I want… you to… make me faint," Beckett told her husband. She wasn't surprised when he pulled away and she told him, "Seriously."

"Okay," Castle said. He was about to ask her if she wanted that done any differently than they usually did when he was abruptly moving to sit up when she was doing so.

Beckett didn't give her husband the chance to say anything as she twined her arms around his neck and was kissing him deeply on the lips while they sat on their knees. With her hands sliding up to his head to gently rake her nails along his scalp she felt him grab onto her tighter before they slowly parted and she smiled. " _Tá ár gcuid éadaí ar an mbealach_ ," she murmured to him, looking into his eyes.

As she'd said their clothes were in the way Castle leaned over and nibbled at the top of her shoulder from neck to the end of it before he said huskily, " _Ba chóir duit iad a thabhairt amach_."

Beckett was a little startled, since he'd told her that she should take them off before her heart started to pound a little faster. She had half expected him to be unsettled at her comment but finding he wasn't was making her that much more aroused. So she reached for the bottom of her pajama shirt and pulled it off before watching Castle eye her breasts for a moment. She got off the bed easily and removed her pants, letting them fall with her shirt before she got back on the bed, watching her husband expectantly as she did so.

"Should I really consider punishing you?" Castle asked her jokingly.

"I don't think so," Beckett said, reaching for her husband and pulling her to him. They kissed hungrily for some time before her hand slid underneath his pajama pants and grabbed.

Hissing heavily at her touch Castle said, "Really?"

"You never took off your clothes, what am I supposed to do?" Beckett asked teasingly. She moved her hand and said, "You'd do the same to me."

"If you hadn't been laying on the bed I would have," Castle said wryly before he took off his shirt and pants, his boxers discarded a second later. Getting back onto his wife he playfully held her arms down by the wrists; gently; before saying, "You know I can just-"

"If you do I know where your belts are," Beckett said teasingly as she knew what he was going to say.

"Why my belt?" Castle asked as he let her go to pull her panties off her.

"They're wider," Beckett said, watching him turn to the side to toss the fabric with her other clothes.

Castle paused for a moment before he moved again, above her so he could look down at her body. "I adore you," he said seriously before looking up into her eyes.

"Show me," Beckett murmured. She wasn't surprised when her husband kissed her first and she was quick to respond, wrapping her arms and legs around him before she felt him pressing down on her a little bit. "Rick," she said with a smile.

"That was a natural react-" Castle started to say as that action had pressed his erection against her. He was cut off by his wife reaching in between them and grasping at his length, making him tense up fully before he reached down to stop her. Without a word, he kissed her before he let go of her to reach in between them and finger her sex. Rubbing at her clit he soon had it swelling up to a more noticeable degree and he asked, "We should start, shouldn't we?"

"I think so," Beckett said, a little breathless still because of what he'd made her feel with his touch. She pushed herself up and then brushed her lips to his before she turned around to get on her hands and knees. As soon as she was comfortable she slid down so she could cross her arms on the bed.

"This is going to be fast," Castle warned her as he'd been watching her.

"That's the idea," Beckett said simply. She was startled when her husband swiftly moved and gasped as she could feel his lips on her ass, gently brushing against her skin. When he pulled away she asked, "Would you ever want to hit me with that?"

Since his wife had moved to pointedly look at his member Castle shook his head firmly and said, "I prefer my hands," slapping her lightly. As she was crying out he moved to get directly behind her and with that he slid inside of her, very gently before he paused.

"Oh… Rick please, fuck me!" Beckett cried out in joy at feeling him very thick within her already. He was ramming into her and she let out a short scream before she buried her face into the bed. After she was used to him; since he'd remained still again; she couldn't help flexing her muscles about him and let out an erotic noise. "Rick…" she moaned to him. "Please, I want to feel you… your cock so deep in me making me faint." She was startled when he still didn't move and she reached with her right hand to his that was near her, squeezing it before he was speaking near her ear.

"Promise you'll beg for me one more time," Castle couldn't help telling her.

"I will… please," Beckett moaned a little more deeply. She was then crying out as her husband thrust and she closed her eyes since the pleasure was immediate. She tried to move back against him, but she didn't have much leverage though it didn't bother her all that much. "Rick… there," she gasped out.

"Here?" Castle murmured though he was aware of the area where he would need to be to reach her g-spot.

"No… too far… the, the right… up, up!" Beckett said, crying out her last word as he'd found it. She gasped out his name as he kept going to the same spot and she wanted to warn him that she was going to climax but couldn't really make herself say anything. "I… Rick I'm going to come!" she finally was able to cry out. Two more rough thrusts and she could feel her orgasm roaring through her entire body at an intense level, the ecstasy becoming too much for her and she soon after passed out.

The second he could see that his wife was limp in front of him, Castle pulled out of her quickly and was careful as he was laying her down on her back. Wrapping his arms around her he held her close against him before he reached his hand down in between her legs. He gently fingered her sex, feeling the way it was trying to take his release though he wasn't close enough to give her that. He hissed in frustration at the thought before he stopped touching her and was about to get up to distract himself when he felt her moving a bit.

"Love?" Beckett asked softly as she became aware of herself and turned to see her husband next to her.

"I'm here," Castle replied, wondering why she'd made that a question.

"Are you okay?" Beckett replied.

"I should be asking you that," Castle told her running his hand along her side gently.

"You know I'm fine," Beckett said, pushing herself up as she felt stronger by then. She kept her husband from getting up himself and caressed his chest as she was on her knees above him. She gently stroked his skin, watching him closing his eyes tightly before she flicked her thumb over both his nipples. Smiling at his husky groan she said, "It affects you quickly too right?"

"It does," Castle said honestly, unable to keep the relief out of his voice as she had stopped touching him. "What are you going to do?" he then asked her as he watched her closely.

"I'm sure you'd like to know," Beckett said teasingly. She then leaned over and kissed him tenderly before she moved back enough to speak telling him, "Don't worry."

"I can't help doing that," Castle said as he ran his hands up and down her back. "Should I beg you?"

Beckett merely smiled before she moved and began to kiss around his chest, going over it lovingly and thoroughly while she made her way down. She listened to her husband's groans and was very careful not to touch his length that was still resting on his stomach before she pushed herself up again. She smiled at the way her husband was looking at her and then said, "Don't stop me."

"I won't," Castle replied seriously though he couldn't help feeling the need to do that. He suppressed his desire to talk while she went lower on him and with her in between his legs he propped himself up on his elbows to watch his wife. Though he'd been set on being able to see her the entire time he soon collapsed down on the bed the second her tongue flicked out to the tip of his length. When she very quickly after took him fully into her mouth he swore, intending to tell her not to make him come too fast. But she was making him feel too much pleasure so he was quiet in saying anything except for her name or his expressions of what she was making him feel. He stroked her hair, trying not to hold onto it, while she was bobbing her head up and down before he realized he was getting close. "Kate," he told her but that time in warning.

"Come for me lover," Beckett instructed him firmly, working over him with her hand. She brought her left hand into play, cupping and lightly manipulating underneath his erection, and it took very little time after she had begun doing that for him to reach his peak. She had to keep her eye on him closely; to do what she wanted to; but once he'd calmed down she was smiling and pushing herself up, studying her work before he reached out to hold her by the arm. "Okay?" she asked, unable to stop smiling at him.

Feeling stronger, Castle looked at her and said, "You're going to kill me."

"No, I have better things to do," Beckett said simply before she went to his chest to begin cleaning him.

Castle wasn't sure what the reason was for his wife not pushing him to a second orgasm but knew it wasn't because of a lack of effort on her part. The feel of her tongue on his chest was heavily arousing and by the time she finished and was laying on top of him he felt a heavy ache within his entire body that nearly became painful. He was about to pull her to him to kiss her when she stopped him and with a smile murmured something against his lips he could just barely hear.

"Your reward," Beckett told her husband.

"Why am I being rewarded?" Castle asked. Before his wife could reply he said quickly, "You can't take it back."

Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling at the same time, Beckett said, "I don't want to and because you did what I asked."

" _Do you think I'm really able to say no to you_?" Castle asked in Irish.

Beckett laughed softly and then leaned over, brushing her lips to her husband's before she pulled away and said, "Now you can decide."

"Maybe later," Castle said, making her move to allow him to sit up. He reached for her and pulled her close before they began to kiss and much more deeply than hers. He ran his hands all around her back until finally he stopped to let them both breathe. "I want another reward," he told her once they were breathing a little more calmly.

Studying him for a moment Beckett said, "And what do you want for that?" She was startled when he suddenly made her get up before she found herself on top of the headboard. "You haven't done this for a while," she couldn't help telling him.

"Something's telling me to do this," Castle said honestly.

"Then get started," Beckett said with a smile. It very quickly dropped off her face as he was leaning forward to bury his head between her legs more fully. At the first sweep of his tongue over her folds she cried out heavily in pleasure, holding onto him before he slid up with his tongue to her clit. "Oh!" she said when he'd suddenly moved her onto the bed. "Why did you bother?" she asked, unable to help the laughter that was slightly in her voice.

"I thought it would work but… the headboard got in the way," Castle said, unable to help staring at her. He was about to ask her if she wanted them to make love when she grabbed him and nearly shoved him down to her mound again.

Beckett almost smiled when her husband went right back to pleasuring her, but it didn't manifest as he was playing around with her clit immediately. She reached down to the bed underneath her, clutching it tightly as the pleasure was strong rapidly. It made her whole lower body heat up before that spread up until she was sure she was on fire. But that was interrupted momentarily when he moved away, going to her right thigh and kissing at the inside of it.

Freezing the second his wife grabbed onto his hair, Castle glanced up her body to see her face before he said, "No?"

"No waiting," Beckett said firmly. "I want to come now." When he nodded and went back to her sex she bit her lower lip a little hard as he reached up to start rubbing her clit at the same time his tongue slipped within her. Since she had enjoyed pleasuring him she had been aroused again and with him moving his tongue back and forth within her slowly and then quickly she knew she wasn't going to be able to last. "Rick… I'm going to come… don't stop," she breathed out to him in warning.

Castle wanted to reply he wouldn't, but he was a little too preoccupied to stop and speak. He was feeling his arousal becoming a little strong at tasting her and working over her, but he tried to put it out of his head until he could get her off. Losing himself in his goal he had no idea how long he was rubbing and moving his tongue, though he would have loved to have known since he didn't want it to be that fast. But finally he could feel her starting to writhe and he held onto her legs; which she'd slung over his shoulders eventually; to make sure she didn't accidentally hit him before she calmed down. He was struck again with excitement at the way she was calling his name in her climax, and he wondered if she was aware how much he loved hearing her get off. He reminded himself to tell her that later before finally he felt her grow still and he lingered to give a few more swift licks to her folds before he pulled away slowly. "Alright?" he asked her once he was on his side next to her.

"I am," Beckett said with a sigh, feeling stronger. "What about you?"

"You can feel that?" Castle asked.

"How am I not supposed to?" Beckett replied wryly.

"Okay," Castle said before he held her tightly to him. Kissing her temple, he told her, "Sleep?"

"Tell me what you're remembering," Beckett said with a smile on her face.

"It's where your story stopped," Castle said simply. He was a little surprised when she made him lie on his back but as she pressed against him he smiled before saying, "It gets adult."

"I don't mind," Beckett replied as she lightly fingered the tip of his erection, brushing against his stomach as well.

Castle found he couldn't really speak for the moment, just feeling her touch and how it was making his body throb. She eventually stopped, and he was able to continue saying, "You always had a room at the Alamo house." He made a face and said, "We didn't always call it that."

"No, keep going though," Beckett replied, shaking her head laughingly.

"Okay, so we were inside and you were very forceful," Castle started, holding onto her a little tighter at the memory.

* * *

 _"Kate, hold your horses we-" Rick tried to say before his wife was crushing her lips against his._

 _"What is it?" Kate asked when her husband finally made her stop._

 _"What about your sister? And Mary?" Rick asked her._

 _"Don't worry you sap," Kate told him with a smile before she brushed her lips to his. "They went to Mary's home remember."_

* * *

"Mary still had her home?" Beckett asked, startled that she hadn't realized that before.

"She did… I think she rented it so she and Skye would stay there every so often when there wasn't anyone there," Castle said as he considered that for a moment. "But yeah, we were alone."

"Keep going," Beckett told him before she kissed his jaw a few times.

With a nod Castle took a moment to recall where he'd left off and then said, "Oh, my reaction to that."

* * *

 _"Perfect," Rick told his wife as he then picked her up. He carried her up the stairs and then to her old bedroom, throwing her carefully on the bed before he followed her. He luckily didn't have very far to go as she immediately sat up before grabbing at him fervently. Their tongues rolling together_

* * *

Castle was interrupted when his wife kissed him hard suddenly, and he was focused on responding to her as much as he could. He held her body against his as their heads were tilting back and forth, groaning at the feeling of her breasts pressing a little against him. When they'd parted he said, "Should I stop there?"

"No," Beckett said firmly. "What did we do after we kissed?"

With a smile Castle brushed his lips to his wife's and then said, "We undressed… fast."

* * *

 _"Horsefeathers," Kate said suddenly._

 _"What's wrong?" Rick asked, his hand on her side._

 _"My stockings tore," Kate sighed, showing him the rent fabric. "Oh well," she then said, tossing it aside and turning to her husband. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed him before he was wrapping his arms about her. She thought he might pick her up to get her back on the bed but instead he let go of her and laid on it in the middle. She knew immediately what he wanted, and she climbed up on him saying as she crossed her legs, "You want to wrestle?"_

 _"Of course," Rick replied with a slight smirk before he sat up. He reached up for his wife's breasts and caressed them gently until he felt her moving. He watched her sit up on her knees and said, "Would be better if I was in you."_

 _"Hmm, exactly," Kate said before reaching to something next to the pillow behind him. When he was ready she was raising herself up and then lowering her body until his erection slipped within her._

* * *

Sighing heavily Beckett said, "I know I enjoyed that as much as I am right now." She paused, flexing her muscles around her husband at the same time since they'd gotten into the same position they'd been in with his memory as they'd suddenly; wordlessly; decided to play with mimicking their past life. Shaking her head as her skepticism tried to dissuade her from that, she then said, "But at least we didn't have to wait now like then."

Castle nodded; as he'd put on protection in the memory; before he said, "We didn't waste time after that though."

* * *

 _"Oooh… Rick… that's… swell," Kate moaned as she held her husband by the back of his head since he was suckling hungrily at her breasts._

* * *

"You're really… you want them," Beckett breathed as she was rocking her hips while her husband was talking to her though it hadn't been for long.

"Badly," Castle said, nodding his head rapidly. He slid his hands up from the small of her back where he'd been holding onto her to her sides just under her breasts. He was hissing in pleasure as she was moving a little slower and he just watched the way the mounds were just barely moving.

"If they were bigger-" Beckett said, stopping then.

"They'd make you look off balance," Castle interrupted her, giving her a slight look before he was bringing her to him so they could kiss. He couldn't help becoming a little frustrated as he couldn't take her breasts but reminded himself there was nothing he could do about it. After they'd parted he indulged for a moment, sucking on her neck until she gently pushed him back.

"I got it, you still want them," Beckett said with a smile. She leaned over and brushed her lips against his before she told him, "I want more though."

"Are you going to move again?" Castle asked.

Beckett gave him a look before she grabbed his right hand and kissed the tips of his fingers before lowering it to her clit. She moaned heavily and then moved against him a little harder than she'd been before, feeling her husband clutch at her tightly until he stopped.

"I'll never get this memory set," Castle told her. When she brushed her lips to his he knew she'd let him continue and he did though it was a bit difficult since she was moving a little still.

* * *

 _Tilting his head up to his wife once he'd been over both her breasts, Rick kissed her passionately until they slowly parted. "You're not moving love," he told her with a smile though it was a little wavering._

 _Kate pressed her chest against her husband's before she told him, "You really want me to?"_

 _"Ab-so-lute-ly," Rick told his wife, his voice heavily strained. He groaned as she began to squeeze her legs together instead and he held her by her hips telling her, "Not like that."_

 _"Better show me how," Kate said innocently, cupping her face with his hands._

* * *

"It's true, you should," Beckett said.

"I know," Castle replied easily as he was reaching down for her hips.

* * *

 _With a firm grasp of them Rick moved his wife in the motion he wanted and then watched as Kate above him tilted her head back. He could feel her clit against his skin and after he was sure she wasn't going to fake her innocence he let her go and reached down to her ass._

* * *

Crying out hard as her husband was clutching her ass Beckett said a little breathlessly, "I hope you really did do that."

"I did," Castle groaned since his wife was pushing herself up and down by then. "Never slapped you during… though," he hissed as she stopped to roll her hips a few times.

"No but… I still enjoyed it," Beckett sighed as she tilted her head back before her husband moved to kiss at her neck. "Rick," she moaned as his tongue soon came into play. "I'm throbbing…"

"I am too," Castle said huskily against her skin, kissing at it before he lightly blew on it. He then murmured, "You still want your story?"

"Ours," Beckett said, going back to rocking her hips against his. "And yes. What did we do to that bed?"

Castle was tempted to laugh but was kept from it by his wife rubbing her fingers over his nipples. He closed his eyes and literally crushed his wife's body to his chest as they kissed hungrily. When they parted he said, "You went a little crazy," before she looked at him in brief surprise while she was pushing up and down again.

* * *

 _"I'm going to fuck you love," Kate said teasingly as she pushed on his shoulders._

 _"I'll be a happy swell if you do," Rick was quick to reply._

 _Kate didn't respond at first, too busy moving hard and fast on him to speak, before she was saying, "Ain't a swell… if you've got no clothes on."_

 _"Don't need… any. Kate," Rick hissed out to her before he was yelling slightly at the way she turned around on him. "Twisting my-" he tried to say before she was suddenly moving again. He'd had his eyes closed, so when he opened them shortly after that he was startled to realize his senses hadn't been playing tricks on him. His wife was laying fully on his legs, using her knees and hands to push back and forth on the bed. "Kate… fucking Sheba… love," he groaned as the sight was heavily arousing._

* * *

"Do you want me to do that now?" Beckett asked, stroking her husband's hair lovingly. As he'd explained what she'd done in the memory she was a little afraid the images in her head were going to get her off too fast. Luckily he hadn't protested that, and she'd enjoyed recalling herself so teasing. "Still didn't slap me?" she asked to try and distract the rising pleasure.

"Hold on," Castle said before he kissed her. It was deep but very brief and when he pulled away he said, "I just recalled what we did at the end."

"Something different?" Beckett asked.

"No… just something we haven't done in a long time," Castle said. He wasn't surprised his wife looked very confused and told her, "When we first started."

"Now I really want to hear," Beckett replied after she'd bit her lower lip at the thought. She then asked him, "You didn't answer my first question though. Do you want me to do what I did just now?"

"Do you want to?" Castle asked. When she shook her head he then said, "Neither did I, would be weird to talk to your ass."

"Yeah, don't," Beckett said though she was smiling. They kissed each other gently and she said, "Keep going."

"Okay," Castle said before he suddenly grabbed her and whirled them around so she was on her back. He couldn't help smiling at her slight cry of surprise and said, "I did the same thing."

"Oh! Rick… yes," Beckett moaned heavily as her husband began to slightly move. "We did this?"

"We did," Castle said, kissing her again and then around her neck and shoulders before he forced himself to raise his head so he could look into her eyes. Though he was tempted heavily by her slightly swollen lips he forced himself to continue the memory, reminding himself it was pleasurable to do that as well as he began again.

* * *

 _Thrusting as hard as he could Rick hoped they weren't about to break the bed since he didn't want to have to explain it to anyone who might see it. But his wife was holding him tight with her arms and legs and he couldn't stop. They were kissing passionately as she was raised slightly towards him and he eventually went over her neck to her breasts. Though he could only brush his lips against her there he didn't stop, and he then reached up with his right hand to touch her. While she was pressing her chest up towards him he was lightly caressing her until finally she moaned at him to stop. "Is it too much?" he asked her in slight concern._

 _"No… I want something," Kate said before bringing him down enough to her so she could whisper into his ear. "I want to touch you Rick."_

 _"You will," he replied immediately before he moved again. Rick angled his hips enough that he knew he was getting her clit and the cries that left her mouth clued him in on his success. He would have smiled but he wasn't being unaffected, feeling her tight about him and with the pace they were going at it was enough to make them feel a large amount of pleasure. When enough time had passed that Kate was undulating below him wildly, hips smacking against his discordantly, he knew it was time and he pulled out of her before he let her take the condom off him._

 _"Thank you," Kate said emotionally as her husband was rubbing at her clit. She was quick to grab his erection and they manually stimulated one another before she was the first to break._

 _Relieved that she had stopped working on him, Rick watched her ecstasy as it was all over her face and in the movements of her body. He was stunned at how she was soon touching herself, her own breasts and soon after her clit with him before her hips were slowing down in their movements. When she stopped completely he brought her fingers up to his lips, kissing them before licking off her pleasure from them both until he was just tasting their skin. Leaning over; with the intent to kiss her; he was halted in his tracks when his wife's smaller hand was back around his length._

 _"Come on love," Kate told her husband teasingly though she was already being affected handling him. She ran her hand up and down him hurriedly but held him close to the cleft of her mound so his arousal would every so often brush against her skin. She cried out softly as it was brushing against her clit too and she moved him around to rub against her swollen nub._

 _"Keep going Kate," Rick told her, his jaw clenched so tightly he almost couldn't speak. "Be with me."_

 _Shaking her head, Kate instead moved her hand a little faster on him when she jumped as her husband's fingers were suddenly on her, intimately, again. "Oh… Rick you don't…" she tried to say when he stopped her hand. She relinquished her hold on him, allowing him to rub himself on her which made her reach up to herself again. Fondling her breasts while her husband watched she took little time to climax for a second time, crying out her husband's name repeatedly._

 _Pleased that he'd stopped touching himself right at that moment, Rick looked on while his wife lost herself again. His mouth was watering while he kept his eye on her until she stopped moving. He was going to ask her to let him make love to her again before she was curling her hand around him and he was gasping for air as she rubbed him faster than she had before._

 _"Your turn Rick," Kate said commandingly. She cupped him and rubbed him simultaneously until she saw he was just about to climax. Finally he was, with a shout of her name, and she gasped as his release was falling around her upper body. "There," she said, smirking at him._

 _"Kate…" Rick groaned heavily as he watched her fingers working over her skin. He held her wrist before he leaned down and kissed her, both quick to start rolling their tongues together as they didn't want to stop their passion just yet._

* * *

"Do you know how many times we were together?" Beckett asked her husband, her hands caressing his back and shoulders gently as he'd told her the rest of the memory. They hadn't moved after he'd begun, and she was a little frustrated at the feel of him throbbing within her and her own sex doing the same. She tried to ignore it as she had another question for her husband once he answered her first.

"I think twice," Castle said after thinking about that for a moment. "Twice and then we got our clothes back on… though you didn't have your stockings."

"I remembered," Beckett said with a smile. "We had enough protection?"

"I… always carried some around," Castle replied, slightly embarrassed as he felt that he was in his past life. He smiled and said, "We were hot for each other."

"We were," Beckett said, knowing suddenly they would say that occasionally. She gasped when her husband started thrust and she hurriedly closed her legs; they'd been loose in her hold on him; all the way around his waist to stop him saying, "Hold on, I have one more thing to say."

"Okay," Castle said, a little startled that she'd stopped him.

"We're doing that," Beckett told him.

Before Castle could say anything to that his wife dug her heels into his ass as her muscles flexed around him. The jolt that made inside his body left him with no choice but to start thrusting within her and roughly. He groaned hard and long as she cried out erotically before he leaned down, kissing her as hard as he could.

Beckett was raking her nails over his back and shoulders that time, moving away from their kiss after they'd exchanged a few of them after the first. When her husband went to her neck she sighed deeply and then whispered his name before their mouths drifted together. They didn't exactly meet but she flicked her tongue out so they were soon rubbing and trying to grasp at each other. When he pulled back enough to look into his eyes she murmured, "Don't stop me."

"I want to come in you," Castle blurted out. It was what he'd wanted to say before but hadn't had a chance. Luckily his wife was moaning softly that she wanted it too, but he knew they would still be mimicking what they'd done in the memory. As he slowed down and then sped up he tried to delay things a little longer he found it very difficult as they'd been waiting to go through the memory he'd told her. The release of some of the arousal they'd been going through was intoxicating and he couldn't stop, kissing her yet again.

"Rick…" Beckett gasped, soon making him pull away from her. "Please… I need to come," she said a little weaker than she'd meant to. But everything built up in her to the point where she needed a release and she reached for it as her husband almost sped up though he was going fast already. She threw her head back a little hard, ready to scream his name before he was suddenly pulling out of her.

"Come Kate," Castle told her huskily, focusing on her clit while his left hand was clutching at the sheet under her body to the side of her hip. The ending of his own stimulation was literally torture but he kept his attention on his wife as she was almost thrashing back and forth with him in between her spread legs. He didn't know what made him do it, but he suddenly reached up with his left hand and fingered her folds until she seemed to snap and arched her back.

"Oh god Rick, please don't stop! Rick!" Beckett cried out in her ecstasy as her orgasm was strong. She could only chant his name a few times before she was breathless, grasping the bed and still feeling her husband touching her as the waves of pure fire slowed down and became gentle throbs within her form. When she was stationary she felt him move his hands away and she said, "Your turn."

"In a s-econd," Castle said, the word becoming a bit distorted as his wife's hand shot down around his erection. "Kate," he somehow managed to hiss and groan at the same time when she started to run it up and down furiously. He wasn't sure how exactly she was able to do precisely what he'd seen in the memory but quickly reminded himself she'd be able to see it as well. The thought was quickly lost as he felt himself hitting his peak when she rubbed his length against her clit. He wondered if he should try to enter her sex but with how firmly Beckett was holding him he knew he needed to remain where he was, and he looked down at her eventually. When he saw she was touching herself at the same time he thought he could pass out but was glad he didn't as he was enjoying the sight greatly. When he stopped; after a very long time he thought; he studied her and said, "You're… you're okay with all of that," slightly breathless still.

"Of course," Beckett said very simply, using her fingers as she'd done in the memory. "Don't stop me," she said firmly.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Castle replied, though his tone of voice was a little absent as he was focusing on her fingers and tongue more. When she had finished he shuddered heavily and told her, "You like doing that."

With a slightly raised eyebrow Beckett didn't answer him, merely raised her back with some pillows before tugging on his arm, bringing him to her so they could make love once more. It was fast and rough, and she was filled with pleasure as she could tell Castle was as well by the way he was groaning and whispering her name in between kissing her. When they'd climaxed; nearly together; he slumped a little on her and she held onto him while she stroked the back of his head.

"Let me go love," Castle told his wife when he was stronger.

Sighing Beckett said, "We need to get some rest," as he pulled away from her and then laid next to her. She turned rapidly onto her side and let him wrap his arm around her before she asked, "What did we do when we were finished?"

Castle, pressing a few kisses to her forehead, took the time to recall before he said, "We were basically like we are now."

"Not a surprise," Beckett said. "But did we talk or anything?"

"I don't think we did," Castle said. "And we didn't until after we were dressed."

* * *

 _"Wait," Kate said with a soft laugh as her husband was kissing at her neck. "We'll be late getting home, there's no bridge yet."_

 _"Just a little more," Rick told her._

 _"Not yet," Kate said. She then looked around the room and told her husband, "I love being here like this. Do you know how long I thought of you love, here?"_

 _"Ages, same as I did with you," Rick said with a smile, pulling her in close. They kissed tenderly but lingered for some time before they parted and pressed their foreheads together. "Let's go home to our girls?"_

 _"Yes, and later we'll explore what we can do in_ our _room," Kate promised him. When he took her hand and kissed it she smiled before pulling him with her out the door so they could start heading back to Marin County and home._

* * *

"We were together a lot more," Beckett said, looking up at her husband.

"We were," Castle said with a nod. "I'm not sure how we couldn't be," he told her absently as he was reaching for her side to rub his hand around it. "I wanted you."

"As much as I wanted you," Beckett was quick to say.

"Oh of course, you were really… eager," Castle said quickly before he smiled as she smirked at him. He leaned down and kissed her deeply before he moved away to say, "My love?"

"Yes?" Beckett asked him, running her fingertips gently over his chest.

"Promise me we can keep doing this," Castle said.

Raising her head a little so she could look down at him Beckett said, "We have to, we'd go crazy."

"Completely insane," Castle said softly as he reached down her back to the small of it, grabbing it gently. " _I gcónaí_?"

" _I gcónaí_ Rick," Beckett said, both saying always before they kissed as deeply as they could. She had to wonder how many followed that first one before they parted but found she didn't care, telling him, "I love you Rick," as he turned her onto her back.

"I love you too Kate," Castle said quickly before he slid slowly, carefully inside her to her soft cry of delight.

Making love that time Castle and Beckett were making sure they did everything they could to pleasure each other. They took their time; though they knew they were going to work the next day; unable to stop as they were so filled with desire after their memory. Sharing the physicality of their relationship they allowed everything to fall away until they only knew one another and the joy they made together becoming one yet again.


	18. Fell Into Place

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great reading the feedback for the last chapter, so I'll go ahead and get my thank yous out for that! MsNYC (I was happy to see you enjoyed the two flashbacks in the first half and of course relieved you thought they were tastefully written as usual. It was great you loved the diary entry as usual. I wasn't surprised that you thought Skye has a point about Ralston still being a suspect since of course as you said it wouldn't be the first time a vice was a perp. So happy that you thought it was cute Skye proposed and that you thought it was very intimate. And I did get what you meant about that first flashback, that Skye reminded you of Beckett and Mary of Castle since for some reason I leaned towards writing them that way. And I had to laugh at you saying you freaking loved the fact that there was flashback upon flashback. Of course, I was very happy that you thought the love scenes, with the lovemaking going back and forth from past to present, was written tastefully as usual, and that you thought I did a great job on that. And really happy you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (I'm so happy that you like Skye and Mary's story since I really like writing it myself, lol. And I was glad that you thought it was good writing for everyone in the chapter too, I wanted it to read well, lol),

Mb (Great to see you thought the chapter was wonderfully written. I was happy to read you loved the scenes with Paul, Skye and Mary singing since those scenes are fun to write. Interesting to hear about your friend, I'm not surprised that she became a big fan marrying a super Beatles fan… if I ever got married that would likely happen too to my wife, lol. And I'm jealous that they've gone to see Paul in concert all over the world, lol, if only I had the money for that! I have seen Paul before, once, but I was way up to the top of the arena, so I couldn't see him too well. But awesome he recognizes them when they hold signs! I'm so, so pleased that you thought the flashback of Skye and Mary's engagement and celebration after that were very tastefully written since I needed them to be, lol, I didn't want to offend anyone but did want to write them. And so happy you liked the flashback to their past life and them starting to make love together there in their love story. Happy to read you thought they were nicely done. And you're welcome for posting the first half! Really glad you thought the second half was beautifully written. And I'm also pleased that you loved the flashbacks of not just Castle and Beckett but of all their closest and trusted friends as you put it. I'm glad that you thought it was good Brad was mentioned again and not surprised you caught that Lily was there, lol. Really nice that you thought that Castle and Beckett were beautiful, sensual and hot no matter what the time in the past and present. You're welcome for sharing the second half too!),

Guest (I had wondered if you'd send me a review after this chapter, I'm glad you did as I'd wondered too what you'd think of it. But I'm definitely happy that you thought the Skye and Mary engagement story was sweet. You're very welcome for including it. And while I wish I could say I did after your review before I will be honest in saying I had it written already a while ago, it just seemed like something to include to develop Skye and Mary's characters. But I'm even more happy that I wrote it in now, lol, since you did enjoy it in the end!) and

vetgirlmx (Really nice to see first off that you thought the last chapter was very nice. And I'm glad you loved all the flashbacks that were in the last chapter. I'm glad that I could surprise you with the flashbacks from Skye and Mary this time around. But I'm also really happy that you thought it was a very fun surprise! And I was happy to read you loved the story about Skye and Mary's engagement, it was something I really wanted to write. And of course, it was nice that you thought it was a very sweet moment. I had to laugh a bit at you asking if Lanie and Dylan were missing though I can imagine why that would worry you. Don't worry, they aren't missing at all, they're fine and like you said they're having quality time. But I'm not surprised you were worried about them since as you said they have rotten luck sometimes, lol. Really pleased seeing you're eager to read whatever comes next and now you don't need to wait anymore for that!).

Thanks for the reviews, loved reading them as usual and I'm so grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Fell Into Place

"And you are all ready," Castle said to Josie as the baby was kicking her legs and smiling up at him. He picked her up and once she was secure against his shoulder he turned his head to press his lips against her temple. He was soon smiling again as she cooed before he glanced over to see his wife was walking into the room. "You- ow," he said when the baby suddenly grasped at his ear though it was brief. "She gets that from you," he told her jokingly.

"I don't think so but it's funny Eliza did the same thing," Beckett replied, taking the baby from him before kissing her cheek.

"Ergo they got it from you," Castle said simply.

"Ergo we need to go," Beckett told him.

Castle was about to ask if she'd heard from Brad when he recalled what time it was exactly, and he nodded before following her out of the door. Downstairs he saw the others were gathered in the foyer and he asked, "No one else ended up hearing from Brad?"

"Why would he call either of us?" Darnley said. When his friend's husband just looked at him he said, "Well… I guess he'd call me but still."

"Okay, did you guys say goodbye to your kids?" Castle asked.

"We did," Skye said first.

"They're going to the pool again," Martha commented.

"You're not going with them?" Beckett asked her mother in law.

"Oh I am, I just wanted you to know," Castle's mother replied.

"Thank you for watching anyone you will in the end," Beckett said slightly laughingly. She kissed Josie's cheek and then gave the baby to her husband so she could kiss their older daughters. "Be good," she told the two, hugging them at the same time while she was sitting on the bench.

"We will," Julia said. "Be careful."

"We will," Beckett echoed her, smiling at her. She kissed them both on their cheeks and said, "We're having dinner here; pizza because we're having a fancier dinner tomorrow for the party."

"I like that Mommy," Eliza asked. She giggled when her mother laughed, and she hugged her a second time before she and her sister let go to head over to their father.

Stopping them before they could hug him, Castle went over to the bench and took his wife's place before he wrapped his arm around the two girls briefly. "Sorry," he said to them with a smile. "I don't want to drop your sister."

"That's okay, can I take her?" Julia asked. She smiled when her father handed Josie to her and she held her close while Eliza was letting her hold her finger.

"We'll text one of you whenever we can come home," Beckett was saying to her father.

"I know," Jim said with a nod. "Do you think you'll be able to wrap things up today?"

"I'm hoping," Beckett said.

Julia, since she didn't have a free hand to wave goodbye to everyone; said goodbye instead as many times as she could before the adults that were left were taking the other kids over to the kitchen. She stayed in the foyer and went to the bench and leaned against it since she didn't think she could climb up onto it. "I wonder if you miss Mom already," she said to her baby sister, watching her looking up at her. She gasped a little when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, just managing not to jump as she glanced up at who had come back to get her.

"Sorry about that lass," Paul said.

"That's okay, I was just watching Josa… want to hold her?" Julia asked.

"Might I?" Paul asked.

"Yeah, you had babies before," Julia replied. "You held Josa before too."

"Would you want to let her go," Paul explained to her with a smile as he was taking the baby.

"Oh… sure," Julia said though it was a little pointless at that moment since he had Josie fully in his arms.

"You wanted to go after them," Paul said after he'd studied the baby for a moment.

"Well…" Julia started to say, wondering if she should lie about that. But with the way Paul was watching her she couldn't help pouting for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yeah, it's why I really wanted to go to the station yesterday."

"I have to wonder if they'd let you help even if you were all grown up and a lady," Paul said. "I'm grown up; though not a lady; and I wouldn't have the chance to help."

"You don't have the kind of experience even my dad has," Julia told him quickly. She paused and said, "Do you know about the CIA?"

"Oh sure," Paul said. He paused in lightly bouncing Josie before he said, "Your dad was with them?"

Giggling Julia shook her head and told the singer, "His dad got him to follow someone there for research." She rolled her eyes and said, "I think it was a lady since they didn't say who they were; not even if it was a boy or a girl. So, I guess my dad dated her…"

"What is it?" Paul asked interestedly as the girl suddenly frowned.

"Dad said they, he and Mom, found out she was a traitor," Julia said before correcting herself. "I wonder why Dad didn't know that." She realized what she was saying, and she hurriedly told the singer, "He did his research and then a little before he and my mom were together; just working together; they saw the person- the lady again."

"I would imagine she was really good at hiding who she was," Paul said. "When you're older you'll learn there've been some very devious traitors to your country."

"Oh, I know one already," Julia said, smiling when Josie started to make an ah sound a few times before she and Paul realized that she was hiccupping. "Is she okay?"

"She'll be alright," the singer said reassuringly. He rubbed her back gently and told the girl, "She'll stop; didn't your sister do this as well?"

"I think so, but I don't remember if Mom and Dad did anything for her," Julia admitted. "It's scary… all of her is shaking."

"She's a tiny little thing," Paul replied. "Now tell me, what traitor do you know already."

"Benedict Arnold," Julia replied. She smiled at the way Paul's eyebrows rose and then said, "Last… well, in fifth grade our history was American History. We learned about him and his wife, Peggy Shippen. A lot of people think it was just her, but I think it was both."

"Never thought of it that way," Paul said with a nod.

"Julia?"

Turning to the sound of the voice Paul smiled at the girl and said, "Sounds like your friend came over."

"Hi Mari," Julia said with a smile as she saw that the singer was right. "You came over?"

"Just for a little bit," Mari answered. "Mom doesn't want me to stay."

"I can call… text my mom and dad," Julia told her.

"They're not here?" Mari asked in obvious disappointment.

"Let's head out to the pool you two; I'm sure everyone's wondering where we are," Paul said to the girls before they headed over to the door to the back.

"They went to go work," Julia explained. "I'm hoping they finish the case but… I can text them, my mom I mean. I know she'll answer." She paused and said, "Did your parents want you to spend time with them today?"

"On the fifth I have to spend time with them before we leave to go on vacation," Mari said. "I promised."

"Let me get my phone," Julia said, detouring to the kitchen suddenly. It was on the counter near the fridge and she hurriedly texted while walking very slowly back to the door where the other two were waiting for her. Barely a minute later she was looking down at her phone again in surprise as her text alert rang. "You can stay as long as your parents say you can," she told her friend while they walked down the path to the pool.

"Until dinner," Mari said.

"Oh," Julia said, looking disappointed.

"Your friends are all gonna be here aren't they?" Mari pointed out. "The ones from out of town."

"I asked Mom if you could stay at least for that and she said yes if your parents said okay," Julia told her.

"Let's go ask them," Mari said. When her friend looked at her in surprise she said sheepishly, "I forgot my phone at home."

"Can you tell my grandparents where I'm going? We're gonna come right back," Julia said, turning her attention to Paul.

"Of course," the singer said. "Hold onto that phone."

"I will, thanks," Julia replied with a smile before she went to Josie and squeezed her tiny hand that was curled on Paul's arm. After that she went with Mari down to the sand and they walked quickly over it until they came to the Foster home, finding David standing outside it.

"Forgot something?" he asked his oldest daughter with a smile.

"Sorry Dad, I was in a hurry," Mari replied, smiling herself as she took her phone from him. "Thanks. And could I stay over for dinner? Julia invited me, and Kate said it was okay."

"I think so, your mom and I were just talking about how that might happen," David said.

"Then why did you say you think so?" Mari asked in confusion.

"I think he's teasing you," Julia said with a smile.

"Daddy," Mari said, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Sorry about that, but you can stay," David said. "But only until eight okay? Tomorrow you'll be there very late and please tell Kate and Rick about that."

"I will," Mari promised. "Thanks Daddy; tell Mommy the same. Bye!"

With that Julia and Mari ran together over the grass back to her home until they were on the path again to the pool. There they walked so they could get their breath back until they were walking into the gate.

"Hello, you two," Mary said, smiling at them as she was the first person they came up to. "So you're here for another day at the pool?"

"To play with Julia and everyone else," Mari said, giggling as she knew the woman was teasing her. "We should hurry," she then told her friend. "They're swimming already."

"I know, come on we have to put on sunscreen before we go," Julia said, grabbing her hand before they hurried to the chairs along the west side of the pool. "Mari's staying for dinner and she has to go home by eight," she told her grandfather as Martha was helping her with her sundress.

"I'll let your parents know," Jim assured his granddaughter.

Julia nodded and with that out of the way turned her attention to getting covered in sunscreen before she and Mari hurried to join all their friends and family already in the pool. Once they'd resurfaced after ducking under the water she smiled at her cousin and the twins, about to tell them about Mari staying over again when the former interrupted her.

"You're going to stay, aren't you?" Erin asked with a smile.

"Yeah… do you mind?" Mari asked.

"No," Erin said first before the twins were copying her. She glanced at them before saying, "You're fun to play with."

"Yep, and you're Julia's best friend," Kathleen was quick to add.

Smiling the girl herself said, "They're both right. Now that we're all in the pool what are we gonna do next?"

"Um… volleyball?" Marie suggested.

"I'll go get it," Julia said before she went over to the steps. "Is Josa gonna get to go into the pool?" she asked eagerly when she saw her big sister holding the baby.

"Dad and your mom asked me to take her," Alexis replied with a smile as she watched her sister kiss Josie on the top of her head. "Having fun?"

"Yep, she's staying for dinner," Julia said quickly.

"That's not a surprise," Alexis said. "Go and get the volleyball for you guys."

Julia nodded and then rushed over to the room to get the bouncy ball before bouncing it over to the pool and hurrying back. She jumped into the water at the deep end before she resurfaced and cried out as her little sister was there. "Eliza!" she cried before trying to dry off her face and tread the water at the same time wondering why her sister had done that.

"When are Mommy and Daddy coming home?" the little girl couldn't help asking.

"I don't know," Julia said honestly. "They're still working on the case you know."

Eliza couldn't help pouting and she said, "I know but I want them to stop."

"They might be able to today," Julia said, hoping that she would be right. "Want to play with us?"

Shaking her head Eliza said, "I wanna play with Maddy… swim with her."

"Okay," Julia said, watching her go off. She then turned her attention to Mari who was swimming up to her and said, "Now I really wish I could go with them."

"I know but I'm sure with so many people working on the case it'll get solved super fast," Mari told her reassuringly, smiling at her. She tossed the bouncy ball to her before she said, "And-"

Turning around at the sound of a kid laughing Julia smiled when she saw it was Jenny with Tommy and Danny. She went with her friend to the stairs so they could say hello to the three, thinking of her parents and hoping again they could get everything set so they could enjoy the holiday together.

* * *

"Hello," Brad said when he saw the four walking into his office.

"You sound so positive," Castle told his friend.

With a quirk of his lips the chief told them, "We're almost done with the names but so far we don't have that much. We thought we had one guy but he's out of town and has been since last Friday," waiting to see which of them would ask him to elaborate on that.

"Yeah, you never told us so it wasn't anything," Darnley said, looking in confusion at his friend.

"You do have something else though," Beckett said.

"His mother in law called me," Brad began. He shook his head and then said, "I mean Ralston's did. She said that there was a friend of Langston's brother on the construction sites that usually was with him but not on the day he died. She said Ralston had brought that up to the investigators into the accident, but it didn't go anywhere."

"No?" Skye asked, glancing at Castle.

"Not really, whoever it was looking into things I'm sure they'd have noticed if it was sabotage," he said to her look. "And you've already considered him."

"Of course, Frank Coast," Brad said. "And before anyone says anything that is his last name. I reached out to him and he's living in Virginia now."

"Never moved around in the past few days?" Darnley asked.

"No, hey guys," Brad said to the doorway. "Get them caught up, I'll check on the last five names."

Beckett held her hand up to Ryan and Esposito who'd come inside and quickly went over what the chief had told them before she finished with, "And Lanie let me know you're crazy Javi and to calm down or you'll sound just like her mother."

Frowning Esposito shrugged and said, "So if we get something it'll be the last names." When he saw the looks on everyone's faces he shrugged and said, "Should have started with those names first."

"You know if this was a story that would have worked," Castle commented.

"It's not a story and we're very close," Beckett said, glancing at her husband. "We better be," she muttered to herself.

"How're your kids?" Ryan asked as he knew there wasn't much else they could go over about the case that they hadn't done already.

"Good, Mari'll be over when we get back," Castle said first.

"Seems like she's always over," Esposito said.

"Julia does go to the Foster house," Beckett said quickly. "But right now, we have a pool and guests so…" She smiled slightly when her former partner just shrugged before she glanced at Skye and grew somber when she noticed the investigator was studying the board a little intently.

"Just seeing if I've missed anything," Skye said when she realized that Beckett was watching her. "Listen, you might want to check on your daughter occasionally."

"You guys don't do that already?" Ryan asked in surprise.

"Not Josie," Castle said quickly.

"She means Julia," Beckett said. "And you honestly think she'd leave everyone to-"

"Not Mari," Skye interrupted.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "She'd never do that."

"She's right," Castle said, smiling briefly at his wife. "She'd be grounded… for a while."

"Likely until you go on vacation," Darnley commented in amusement as he saw his friend was nodding in agreement with him.

"And does Beckett only do that with the kids?" Esposito asked.

"I will if I need to," Castle said simply.

Seeing the way the boys glanced at one another, Beckett couldn't help rolling her eyes and telling them, "He did the same with Alexis at the same ages."

"Never would have thought it," Esposito couldn't help saying.

"Really? You knew he was a father since you first met him and yet having children with Beckett suddenly makes him a newbie?" Skye asked laughingly.

"Um, mind if I ask you not to call me that again?" Castle said.

"No but it stands where it is," Skye said simply. "Anyways, I think we need to get back to the case."

"Is he coming back?" Castle asked.

"No," Skye said. "But I'm wondering about that tarp," she told them.

"It's still being looked into," Beckett said. "Do you think they'd leave anything?"

"I know," Skye said with a slight sigh. She scratched her cheek for a moment and then said, "Though the fact that it was just the tarp is suspicious."

"He knows there might be planted evidence," Castle said quickly.

"What kind of case do you have if you have to expect something else being planted?" Esposito asked.

"Did we always consider that?" Beckett asked.

"No, because they weren't always this weird," Esposito said.

"Maybe being in the suburbs is the reason," Ryan said.

"I'd like to disagree," Darnley said, raising his hand with his index finger in the air.

"Oh, me as well," Skye said next. "No, the circumstances brought that to this case," she said, walking over to the windows behind Brad's desk. "What with the accident and everything."

"Who would have a motive though?" Castle asked. "If it's Langston then it's not Ralston since he's dead. Unless…"

"A partner," he and Beckett said at the same time.

"Um, question," Darnley said, raising his hand again.

"Put that down," Beckett said, hurrying over to him and playfully hitting at his hand. "What's your question."

"Is it the fact there's two people the witnesses saw?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, though I know the killer could have picked up anyone of course," Darnley said. "Maybe," he then added as he looked at Beckett.

"It's an interesting idea but I would make that the less likely of theories," she told her friend. She was about say one she'd thought of when the investigator touched her arm to stop her to her surprise.

"You might be thinking the same thing I am," Skye told her. "That the second murder was out of necessity."

"What kind of necessity?" Castle asked, wondering if he really wanted to know.

"That I'm not sure about," Skye said. "Unless you've found something with Ralston."

Seeing everyone watching him as he walked inside the office Brad said, "I've got nothing. Every last person that we talked to said he never had an enemy except for the Langston family. We know his parents passed away about a decade ago and Langston of course is our first vic. His company; except for Langston's brother; is clean and we all know that was proven to be an accident."  
"They're not finished with the names?" Ryan then asked.

"Not yet, we're being thorough of course so it's taking some time," Brad replied. "So if you guys want to take a break then go ahead."

"Excuse me," Beckett said, leaving then.

"What happened?" Esposito said as they watched her walking out of the room. He looked at Castle when there was no response to his question and saw the man was nearly running out after his wife.

"Kate," Castle called to her once they were in the lobby. "What is it?"

Shaking her head Beckett pushed the door open as hard as she could and said, "Julia Claire Castle, what are you doing here?"

With her full name, Julia was frozen on her bike and she had the distinct sensation of déjà vu before she got off it fully and told her, "I just… wanted to say hi."

"On-" Castle started to say before he cut himself off seeing Mari riding her bike towards them. "Walk the rest of the way," he called to the little girl as she was about to go from the sidewalk to the parking lot asphalt.

"Sorry, but she was really worried about you," Mari said.

"I was," Julia said hurriedly when her parents turned to her. "Just to see you," she added quickly. "And they know I'm coming, we are," she said, correcting herself.

"And they just let you?" Beckett asked in response.

Nodding Julia said, "I had to promise to call you once I got off my bike here. If you could come see me then I would see you and go back. If you couldn't then I had to go back." She glanced at her friend and then said, "We."

"Well you see us sweetie," Beckett told her.

"You can't tell me anything about the case?" Julia asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Castle said as he watched Beckett wrap her arm around their oldest. "Brad's right over there and if he knew we were going to tell you we'd be in trouble."

Julia wanted to point out there wasn't much the chief could do to them, but she held back and instead nodded before she waved at him, her uncles, Skye and Darnley before turning to her mother. "Mom?" she asked.

"Yes," Beckett said simply.

At her mother's tone, she knew she would need to go back with Mari soon so Julia said, "Will you tell me about the case later?"

"We will but only if we solve it," Beckett said. She hugged her daughter tightly and said, "You're not grounded but I'm going to ask your grandparents and sister if you got home at ten thirty like you should right now. If you don't you'll be grounded."  
"I know," Julia said with a nod as she'd been about to ask that. She hugged her mother before doing the same with her father saying, "Solve the case!" to everyone after she and Mari were riding away on their bikes.

"So…" the girl said to her friend.

"Yeah, my mom was mad, you were right," Julia said, nodding her head. "But good thing I didn't just run out of the house. Or else I would have had to stay here while you all went to Florida."

"I told you," Mari said simply as her friend had at first been tempted to just get out of the house to their bikes so she could see her parents. They rode in silence for a little before they got off their bikes near the house and while they were walking she asked, "Have you been grounded much?"

"Not really, Mom is really serious when she tells me not to do something," Julia replied.

Mari giggled, since she knew what her friend meant, before she said, "Do you still remember stuff from when you were in the city?"

"Yep, I remember from before Dad was my dad," Julia said. She then frowned and said, "I don't like to though… I feel bad I was so scared of him. And my grandpapa."

"What is it?" Mari asked at the expression on her face.

"I was just remembering one time when we were at our home and Dad and Grandpapa were there too for dinner," Julia said. She closed her eyes and said, "I think it was in the fall and Sunday too."

"Tell me," Mari said quickly.

Julia smiled at her friend and they slowed together so she could tell her the story as she always remembered it since it started with something very autumn.

* * *

 _"You brought a bushel of leaves?" Beckett asked her boyfriend when she'd opened the door and saw that he was holding the basket with leaves._

 _"No," Castle said in confusion before he looked down at what he was holding and realized why she'd said that._

 _"What is it?" Julia asked shyly, having been standing behind her mother._

 _"Apples and some leaves," Castle told them, stepping inside once his girlfriend had moved aside for him. As soon as she closed the door behind him he was reaching for her with his free hand, pulling her to him so he could kiss her._

 _Julia, watching the two, stifled a giggle the best she could before she buried her face into her mother's side._

 _Carefully pulling back when they'd been kissing for some time, Castle told his girlfriend, "Thank you for inviting me."_

 _"Julia wanted you to come over too," Beckett said. When her boyfriend handed her the basket she smiled and took it without a word as he was picking up her daughter._

 _"Thank you for inviting me too," Castle said, smiling when the little girl giggled again. He hugged her gently before he said, "I'm going to make a special dessert, want to watch?"_

 _"Kay," Julia said. "Are you gonna cook the leaves too?"_

 _With a quick laugh Castle shook his head and told her, "No, those are for you."_

 _"Me?" Julia asked with wide eyes. "How come?"_

 _"Because I thought you might want to make some art for your mom," Castle explained._

 _"Oooh, thank you!" Julia said excitedly. She then looked confused as she watched her mother getting the leaves from the top of the apples and she said, "Why do you have a blanket?"_

 _"It's a towel," Castle said. "I didn't want to get the apples dirty."_

 _"Oh," Julia said. She then asked her mother, "When can I play with the leaves?"_

 _"Are you making the dessert right now?" Beckett asked her boyfriend._

 _"I need to start it," Castle replied._

 _"Then watch him and while we're waiting for your grandpapa to get here and dinner too, we'll see what we can do with the leaves," Beckett said. She smiled when her daughter squealed before running out of the room to head for her bedroom._

 _"She changed her mind?" Castle asked._

 _"No, I think she knows what she wants to do with them already," Beckett said with a smile. When her daughter appeared in the doorway to the bedrooms she hurried over to her saying, "Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"I can carry them," Julia said, letting her mother take her box of beads while she had her pad of large construction paper. "Thank you," she then added._

 _"You're welcome," Beckett said as she'd taken the paper as well. "Go to the kitchen, Castle's already getting started on the apples."_

 _With a quick, beaming smile at her mother Julia rushed to him to see that he was washing the apples in the sink. She smiled at the way he dried them before he got to the last one. She wanted to ask him what was next when he turned to her and swiftly cut the last apple he'd washed._

 _"Take it," Castle said, handing her the slice of apple._

 _"Thank you," Julia said with a smile, biting into the fruit. She watched him cut again and smiled as that went to her mother._

 _"Do you have enough for what you're going to make?" Beckett asked as she took the slice._

 _"Of course," Castle said. "Actually, I have extra," he added, nodding to what was left inside the basket. "Those are for you both," he said._

 _"Thanks," Beckett said with a smile as he gave her daughter another slice. "But-"_

 _"I saved some for myself too," Castle interrupted her, knowing what she was going to say next. "And now I need to peel."_

 _"I'll help," Beckett said._

 _"Mommy knows how to peel," Julia said quickly._

 _"You said you were cooking?" Castle said slowly._

 _"I do but I need the stove and I'll make it right before we eat because it just needs a wok," Beckett explained to him._

 _"I look forward to seeing that," Castle told her._

 _"I baked too," Julia said as she watched them both begin to peel the apples._

 _"Really?" Castle asked._

 _"You'll see when we eat," Beckett said with a smile at her daughter. Since her mother had taught her to peel an apple in ribbon of the skin she was soon setting it aside before she said to her boyfriend's look, "The gardens at my dad's building have a compost for fertilizer."_

 _"I didn't know they had them," Castle said. "Does he have a spot?"_

 _"He grows carrots," Beckett said._

 _"I'm not surprised," Castle said with a slight smile as he knew the man loved that vegetable. "But back to dinner, you can't give me even a little hint?"_

 _"No," Julia said with a giggle. "We have pumpkins!"_

 _"There's a theme," Beckett said. "By her choice. So, I'm glad you brought apples."_

 _"Me too, but I don't mind pumpkin," Castle commented. He then smiled and said, "Watch out for the snake," passing her the peel of his apple he'd just finished with._

 _Giggling again Julia held the long, curled peel by each end before stretching it out. Studying it she then moved to drape it around her neck before she said, "Look at my necklace Mommy!"_

 _"Oh sweetie, that's very nice but you're not supposed to wear food like that," Beckett said gently._

 _"It's for Grandpapa's garden?" Julia said._

 _"If you don't mind sharing it," Beckett told her._

 _Nodding the little girl set the peel with the others that were gathering with each apple peeled. Julia then studied her mother and said, "How come you don't wear one all the time?"_

 _"I don't have one," Beckett said with a smile._

 _"Oh…" Julia started to say._

 _"You don't need to give me a peel," Beckett told her quickly. She looked at her boyfriend and smiled at him before she turned her attention back to the apples as they were nearly finished with just two left to peel._

* * *

"You know Dad said that's when he decided to give Mom her necklace," Julia told her friend.

"And then her ring?" Mari asked. When her friend nodded she looked at the fence around the house and said, "Is that it?"

"For now, maybe later I'll keep going," Julia said. "I need to go see everyone so I don't get grounded." She smiled when her friend giggled at the way she widened her eyes at her before she unlocked the door so they could go inside. She glanced outside as Mari went first and then turned to follow her, thinking about her parents' case for a moment until her friend was calling her. She turned her attention back to her friends and family, hoping everything would be alright until they could come home.


	19. Fell Into Place (Part 2)

Castle and Beckett, watching their daughter ride down the sidewalk; shared a smile at their daughter's command as she left; since they knew it was that; but they soon were walking back to the chief thinking he had something. When they were close he held up his hand to them; to their surprise; before he answered their unspoken inquiry.

"I didn't get anything," Brad said quickly. "We were all wondering what was going on exactly. We better get back inside though because I'm sure Hutchinson and Pascal are all done with the last names," he added before he turned to lead them back into the station. "But why was she here?" he then asked when they were in the lobby.

"To see us," Castle said.

"And to try to find out more about the case," Beckett said, glancing at her husband. "Which we didn't tell her of course."

"Oh, I know," Brad replied. He let everyone go into the bullpen ahead of him and once the door was closed told them, "If you did I'd have to wonder at your ability to keep your mouth shut."

"Why are you looking at me?" Castle asked.

"Just because," Brad said with a shrug.

"I have to ask," Darnley said. "It's alright they tell her after?"

"You tell Julia about your cases?" Ryan asked.

"We don't give details," Castle said as they stepped into Brad's office.

"Which is why they're not in trouble," the chief commented as he was looking through some papers on the top of his desk.

"And that doesn't bother her?" Esposito inquired.

"No, she wants to know," Beckett said.

"As you just witnessed by the fact she left the pool to come all the way over here," Castle pointed out.

"Sir," Pascal said, running up to the doorway. "We found the jackets, both were stolen."

"Well that sure doesn't help," Castle muttered.

"Quiet," Brad said though he didn't say it in an angry tone. "Did they know where they were stolen from?"

"They were at the gym on 12th and Boston Avenue," Pascal replied.

"On the same day?" Ryan said.

Shaking his head, the officer told them, "About a week apart; give or take a few days; two months ago."

"Thank you," Brad said as he took the file his officer was holding. He flipped through the paperwork and nodded saying, "Maxwell Tucker and Pierce Hesston. They reported them stolen… who got the case?"

"The Bays substation," Pascal answered. "Officer Maltz has the case. I called her, and she said there was some footage you'd want to see, I let her know your e-mail."

"Thanks again," Brad replied. "So, I'm assuming by that they haven't gotten that far with the case?"

"Not really," Pascal said. "She was eager for you to see the footage."

"Alright," the chief said. "Did anyone talk to the two?"

"Not yet," Pascal replied. "Hutchinson and I were going to do that for you."

"Go ahead," Brad said, nodding to the door. Once the officer had left he turned to the others and said, "I need Castle and Beckett to see this first."

"I think we already knew that," Skye commented.

"Me too," Darnley said.

Seeing the boys nodding, Beckett walked with her husband around behind Brad to look at the screen of his computer. "You realize we might not be able to ID them," she told the chief.

"I had the thought," Brad replied.

"You two are really pessimistic," Castle said, staring at the monitor.

"Damping down your expectations," Skye commented. "Now hurry I know it's gotten to you already."

Brad didn't say anything to that, instead he opened the e-mail from the officer and then played the footage, about to open his mouth as it was in the gym at some equipment. He could hear Castle starting to talk so he hurriedly raised his hand to stop him before they watched the person on the screen pick up a jacket, their face hidden as they were turned away.

Castle was about to concede to his wife and friend that they were right when the man turned and he heard the latter swearing. "Who is it?" he asked as the other four were nearly running around the desk.

"Look at the board," Brad told them as he jumped up. "That's Dean Aronson, former father in law to Ralston."

* * *

"We got word that he's here sir," Hill said, going up to where Brad was standing behind his car with Castle and Beckett. "But we couldn't really find his wife and grandkids."

"We need to find those kids," Castle said though he didn't think they were at the construction site that Ralston's company was working on, no one there at the moment.

"I have officers still considering them, where they could go," Brad said hurriedly. "So, we're sure he's alone?"

"We have eyes on him," Hutchinson replied. "He's going around the trailer, likely looking for that insurance policy."

"Weird place to do that," Castle murmured to his wife.

With a quick nod Beckett turned to her husband and said, "You know what you need to do now."

"But-" Castle began to say in protest.

"She's right, now's the time you fall back," Brad said. "And remember it's a favor to me; you need to keep an eye on Skye and make sure she's alright."

"Sorry about that," the investigator said when the writer had reached her behind another car across the street from the structure the company was building.

"Don't worry," Castle said quickly. "I knew she wasn't going to let me join them."

"She?" Skye asked before she watched with him as Brad went with Becket, Darnley and the boys up to the trailer which was larger than the one at the crime scene.

Making some signals to the boys, Brad watched them go around the trailer until they were across from him and Beckett with Darnley at the window around the corner with Wade he knew. He counted down with his fingers before he pointed to Esposito and the detective ran up to the door, standing to the side of it.

Beckett joined Brad in running up to the other side of the entry before she watched the chief bang on it while calling that they were the police and for Aronson to come outside. She was almost expecting the shattering of glass to their left before she ran with the others to find Darnley fighting with the older man as Wade was senseless on the ground. She was about to run to help her friend when Aronson slashed at Darnley with a knife and got away. She ran after the man, calling her husband's name in warning as she saw he was headed across the street where she knew Castle was when Brad grabbed her arm so they would be together running as the chief spoke in between gasps for air.

"He's armed, I… figured he'd do… something stupid with… him left behind," Brad managed to say. "Aronson!" he yelled as they ran into the park that had been across the street. They could just see the man in the shade holding out the knife towards Castle who was aiming a gun at him.

"Put the knife down," Castle said when the man stepped closer to him. He was on his own, Skye having disappeared when they'd run into the park with their killer chasing after them. He wasn't sure why they'd done that, but the investigator had told him to before dashing away to the side.

"You don't know how to use that," Aronson spat out.

"No but I've quite a deft hand with this," a voice said behind him. "If you'd care to see."

"She is, I've seen her," Castle said, relieved he knew where Skye was. The investigator was standing behind Aronson, her knife to his throat as he stood still while he made sure to keep his own gun on the man.

"We've got this Castle," Brad said, nodding to Esposito who'd kept up with him and Beckett. When the knife was out of Aronson's hand he holstered his gun since the other officers and Ryan were soon with them. Handcuffing the man, he said, "Dean Aronson you're under arrest for the murders of Adrian Langston and Tim Ralston." Walking him over to his squad car he said, "Where are your wife and grandkids?"

Beckett wasn't surprised Aronson didn't reply and she said, "At this point you realize she'll be charged too since we can't find out from her where she was-"

"No, no, I'll tell you," Aronson said, showing obvious concern. "She's at the Hamptons Inn. And she had nothing to do with this."

Letting Hutchinson put the man into the back of hers and Wade's car Brad said to Castle and Beckett, "I don't want to make a full-on raid."

"You shouldn't," Skye said as she walked over to them. "I'm taking this off," she told the chief firmly before she took off her vest. "Because those children do not need that."

"We also don't know if the wife was involved," Brad commented. He frowned before looking at Skye and telling her, "You're coming with us."

"Oh sure," the investigator said, completely unfazed.

"Alright, let's go. Hutchinson get him to the station and into holding. Pascal wait with Wade for the ambulance. I hate to leave you here like this but keep me updated on his condition. Hill, Rice you're with us. I don't expect that Mrs. Aronson will give us any problems," Brad told the others as his first two officers were leaving. "But everyone have your vests on."

"Bugger it all, I'll put it on when we get there," Skye said with a roll of her eyes. "Go before she moves on."

"What is it?" Beckett asked while they were walking to their cars.

"I'm not sure, maybe the kids," Skye explained in a low voice. "I can't help think of my own."

Nodding in agreement; as she was concerned for the Ralston twins as well; Beckett got into Brad's squad car before they were heading to the bed and breakfast, the chief turning on his sirens and lights immediately as he sped off down the road.

* * *

"We've got a problem," Brad said as he walked back to where everyone was waiting. "The owner was here when she checked in this morning; she's armed."

"And she didn't say anything?" Ryan asked.

"Oh no, she did," Brad said. "She called the substation near here twenty minutes ago. They called the main station and Georges called me so now we know. Castle I'm not going to give you a weapon, if we have to barge in then we're all trained to do so. Skye, keep that vest on because I don't know if Mrs. Aronson is going to run off like her husband did. Are we understood?" When he got nods all around he said, "I'm reluctant to take you four with us but if this gets out of hand the extra experience will help out. Now Beckett, you're trailing me, Ryan I'd like you behind her next to the door." When the two nodded he said to Esposito and Darnley. "You two I want at an angle to the door, it's outside so you'll be extra eyes."

"Are you expecting that much trouble?" Esposito asked.

"No but you should plan ahead," Brad said firmly. "Hill, Rice you guys need to cover us, to the left of Darnley and Esposito."

"Love be careful," Castle couldn't help calling to his wife as she was starting to leave with the others.

Beckett gave her husband a quick smile over her shoulder before she walked with Brad in front of her. "She'll come outside," she said in a low voice, not surprised when the chief looked back at her then.

"For the sake of her kids?" Brad said. When he saw the nod she gave him he said, "Let's hope."

"Stop walking around," Skye said, watching Castle doing that. "I doubt Kate's that out of practice."

"You really wouldn't worry about Mary still if you were in my shoes?" he replied though he did stop going back and forth behind her.

" _Touché_ ," Skye murmured. "But really she's surrounded by friends; they'll make sure she's… alright."

"What?" Castle asked as the woman was looking at him. He then realized she wasn't looking at him directly and though he could hear Brad announcing the police at the door to the room he turned around. "Hey-" he began.

"Wait!" Skye called as she ran after the two little kids that had appeared suddenly in the woods behind them. She was able to catch up to them rapidly since she had longer legs and grabbing their shoulders she did her best to be gentle but forceful as they turned to her with wide eyes. "It's alright," she told them soothingly. "I'm with the police. We both are," she added in a rush as she looked at Castle who'd joined them. "Are you Ivy and Iris?"

"Yeah, you know us?" the little girl with blue eyes, Ivy, said softly.

"We do," Castle said as Beckett looked at him a little pointedly. "We're really glad to see you."

"Very, we've been quite worried about you two," Skye said before Iris suddenly burst into tears and buried her face into her stomach. She murmured gently to the little girl as she caressed her hair and then was about to tell them they needed to get them out of the woods when Ivy was talking again.

"Grandma Petunia was crazy," the little girl said. When she saw that Castle was looking at her she stepped closer to Skye and said, "We went outside of the bathroom."

"Did you have to jump down to the ground?" Castle asked while he watched Skye comforting Ivy as well.

"No, we climbed out," the little girl replied.

"I want my daddy," Iris sobbed.

"Come here," Skye said soothingly, picking her up. She felt the girl hugging her tightly and she said, "We need to go back, they're going to want to see them and make sure they're okay."

" _Hopefully they are too_ ," Castle murmured in Irish. He wasn't surprised at the look he got from Skye but neither of them said anything as they walked quickly through the woods back to the home.

* * *

"Mrs. Aronson open the door, or we'll break it down," Brad yelled.

"Just try," the muffled voice yelled from the other side.

When the chief signaled to him, Esposito nodded and then moved to kick down the door, glancing at Darnley. Sure that the man was set where he'd just been standing, he raised his leg, bringing down the door before he moved out of the way of the chief.

"Put the gun down Mrs. Aronson," Brad yelled, aiming the gun at the woman who he could see was holding it at her temple in the bedroom just past the tiny living room the hotel room had.

"Chief," Ryan said simply.

"Beckett, go," Brad told her before she passed him, and Ryan and Esposito followed.

"Drop it," Beckett told Mrs. Aronson at the doorway to the bedroom. "We have your husband and your grandchildren. It's over," though she wasn't sure about the two girls yet.

"My… Where's Dean?" the woman asked.

"Give me that," Esposito said, taking the gun out of her hand she hadn't been holding correctly.

"Stand up," Brad said.

"Why are you arresting me?" Mrs. Aronson asked.

"Because I know you don't have a permit for that gun," the chief said simply. "I'm taking her back myself."

"We'll meet you at the studio," Beckett said, nodding her head. She glanced at her former co-workers and said, "That was… familiar," finally settling on the last word.

"Like old times," Ryan commented. He glanced at Darnley who was looking around the room but standing in place before he said, "Sort of."

"Come on, my husband is probably pacing around like crazy-" Beckett started to say before they heard Brad yelling outside. She hurried to the door, though the chief's voice wasn't all that angry or panicked, and when she stepped outside saw the reason why. "Rick," she said, going to his first name in her surprise at the sight of the two little girls with Skye.

"It's Ivy and Iris," Castle said quickly as he jogged over to his wife while she was holstering her gun. "They escaped out of the bathroom when their grandmother took her gun out."

"And apparently attached to Skye," Beckett said as she walked with him over to her friend.

"Yeah, I don't blame them," Castle said. When his wife glanced at him he told her, "She was first to them and very…"

"Gentle," Beckett finished for him with a smile. They were reaching the investigator who she saw was sitting on the curb, talking to the girls seriously before she glanced up at them. She had been planning to talk to the twins before Skye stood and held up her hand and she waited as one of the girls had tugged on the investigator's hand to ask her something.

"Can we go home?" the little girl whispered.

"Not exactly," Skye told Ivy.

"We'll need to go to the station," Beckett said since her friend had turned to look at her. "All of us."

* * *

"Well, that finished quickly," Castle told his wife as she walked into the breakroom. "Tea?"

"Yes," Beckett said, watching him pour a mug out for her. "So, the girls."

"You found out something about them?" Castle asked since they hadn't really had time to look into the twins before everything had gone to the Aronsons.

"Everything basically," Beckett said with a nod. She sat at the table and said, "They're foster children."

"Foster… but their last names are Ralston," Castle said.

"I'm not sure how that worked out but it's what was in their information," Beckett said. She paused as she waited for him to sit next to her and then told him, "They couldn't have children, so they took the twins six months ago though they got a divorce still."

"Probably better they didn't adopt them," Castle said.

"I'll agree," a voice said at the doorway. Skye smiled slightly when Castle and Beckett looked at her and said, "They're very sweet girls."

"Where were you just now?" Castle asked.

"She was in the chief's office," Darnley said, walking in around the investigator. "On the phone."

"Were you eavesdropping?" Skye asked him.

"No but I could see you," Darnley replied easily.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her Skye sighed and said, "I think we all know what I was doing," as she wasn't sure what else to say about her actions yet.

"Of course," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband and Darnley looked at her. "What about Mary?"

"I talked to her," Skye replied. "And she's on her way."

When Castle looked at her again Beckett shook her head again telling him, "Julia heard me before, she'll stay."

Shrugging Castle turned back to Skye and said, "Would you really adopt them?"

"Oh, you're so certain I would just do that and not take them…" the investigator started to say before she trailed off. "Yes, we're going to try to adopt them."

"Mary's so sure?" Beckett asked, putting her hand on Skye's shoulder as she plopped onto the chair on the other side of her and buried her face in her hands. "Are you?"

"Yes, they're… it's like what happened with Fleur," Skye said. "And we don't need to worry about money, we have more than enough and space at the house too. But I've… asked CPS if we could take them over to your place tomorrow, at the very least to introduce them to our girls," she said, a little apprehensively.

"It's a good idea," Beckett said reassuringly. "We don't mind at all; I'm sure the kids will like some more playmates." She then squeezed her husband's hand tightly and watched him leave before gesturing to Darnley. "You know that you can't control this," she said.

"Yeah but… it's like I save a child and I have to adopt them…?" Skye asked.

"You've done that before and you haven't adopted all the kids you've ended up helping out," Beckett said. She glanced at the doorway; where her husband was motioning slightly to her; and told her friend quickly, "They might be from our past life."

"I had the same thought," Skye replied with a nod before she stood up. She smiled when her friend looked surprised; as her back was to the door; and said, "I guessed by your posture. Brad must be ready for you."

Beckett wanted to say that the chief might want her to go in too, but she merely smiled and followed the investigator out to the bull pen where the chief had gathered all his consultants together near the interrogation room.

"I only need Kate and Skye on this one," Brad told them. "Kate you're with me talking to Mr. Aronson; Skye Mrs. Aronson. The rest of you I really appreciate the effort you took to help us out with everything. You don't have to stay if you don't want to but if you want to go ahead; just watch out for my officers."

"I'll go over to your guys' house," Darnley said to Castle and Beckett. "I want to see my family."

"Me too, I'll join you," Ryan said quickly, turning to shake the chief's hand before the detective from DC was doing the same.

"I'll go, will be great to not to have to worry about any paperwork," Esposito said as the others were turning their attention to him.

"Tell our kids," Skye said, motioning to herself and then Castle and Beckett. "That we'll be back soon."

Once the three men were gone Brad said, "We'll start with Mr. Aronson, Kate?"

"I'm following," Beckett said easily, walking after him while behind her Castle and Skye were going inside observation.

"Mr. Aronson," Brad said once he closed the door behind himself and Beckett. "I see you've been able to write down your version of events."

"Yes, now where's my wife? My grandchildren?" Aronson said.

"We need to talk about what happened with both murders," Brad said, he and Beckett sitting across from the man.

Aronson opened his mouth to speak before he then said, "Not until I can see my wife."

"She's confessed already," Beckett said as Brad had told her the woman had screamed it in his squad car on the way back to the station. "She blames you for the idea and carrying everything out."

"What?" Aronson said in shock. "No, no, it was her idea. We needed to get Ivy and Iris, custody of them because Ralston was a shitty father and we could do so much better. She said we needed to frame Ralston and we were watching the footage from the construction sites he had."

"How did you do that?" Brad asked.

"I'm a computer systems specialist, I work at some companies," Aronson said, his voice sounding as if he was exhausted.

"You hacked his system?" Beckett said.

"Without him being able to see me," Aronson said with a rapid nod. "I was looking at the footage and found two people going into the house. I told Petunia and she said it was our chance. I got suited up and I ran to the house, hiding in the upstairs room I found would hide me. I had a tarp with me that Petunia told me to take with me, for the blood and everything but… I forgot to wear it like she showed me."

"And why exactly would she tell you that?" Brad said, standing up. "You see I take that to mean she was the killer and you're just recalling what she took with her."

"She didn't want any evidence to get back to us," Aronson nearly growled. "She was trying to make sure I was clean, but it didn't matter."

"Where was Langston while you were hiding?" Beckett asked.

"He was having sex," Aronson replied, sneering for a moment. "I waited and then there were those kids with firecrackers who helped me… I didn't even see them, but I was thanking them in my head because the guy came over; Langston you said. I got around to the hallway before he could see me and once he was at the door I just…"

Since the man hand used both his hands to hold over his head and thrust forward Beckett said, "What about blood splatter; you had to have gotten coated in it."

"I was but then I changed out of my clothes, I took them with me and was going to use the tarp to wrap them in… but I forgot," Aronson said. "I ran out of the house before the woman who was with the guy could coming looking for him. I ran to my truck and got out of there… burned the clothes at home… that was it."

"And your son in law," Brad stated.

"You didn't arrest him," Aronson said, shaking his head. "You just… you were supposed to arrest him, and we'd keep Ivy and Iris. Petunia and I agreed we had to get him out of the way… like we should have in the first place. So, we went together and that was it."

"You stole jackets for that," Beckett said.

"No, I had them already we just… figured they'd keep us hidden enough," Aronson replied. He then straightened up and said, "I want a lawyer."

"Alright, thank you for this," Brad said, looking at Beckett so she would stand up. He took the pad of paper that was in front of the man and walked out of the room before he motioned to Wade. "What do you think?" he asked.

"Did she ask for a lawyer?" Beckett asked.

"She did," Wade said as he walked up to them. "I didn't see you go by chief, or else I would have told you."

"You don't think Skye would work still?" Brad asked Beckett jokingly.

"Go ahead but you'd be… so much in trouble I'd hate to see it," she said, watching her husband and Skye walk out to them.

"Well, at this point you're all finished," Brad said, smiling at the three consultants. "Since lawyers won't let them in," he said to Skye, nodding to Castle and Beckett. "Even Kate."

"Understood and I'm quite pleased not talking to the missus," the investigator said. "I was liable to… never mind."

"Are you going to talk to the girls?" Castle asked then.

"I am, since I can't talk to their foster grandparents anymore," Brad said with a nod. "Skye?"

"Sure," the investigator said immediately.

"Kate… do you mind?" Brad asked.

"No," Beckett said simply as she couldn't blame the chief for wanting a more mothering touch for the twins. She walked with him after Skye to the interview room and smiled at the girls who were hugging each other tightly on the couch there. "Hello girls," she said, not sure why exactly she was starting things, but it just seemed to come to her. "We haven't been introduced; my name is Kate Beckett. I'm Skye's friend."

"What's gonna happen to us?" the twin with blue eyes, Ivy, asked.

"There's someone else I'd like you to meet in a bit," Skye then told them, watching the girls hurrying over to her. She wrapped her arms around them, smiling briefly at the social worker that had been in the room with them, and said, "And we'll talk about that. For now, this is the Police Chief; Brad Davis. He's our friend and he'd like to ask you a few questions."

Brad, smiling at the girls, sat down himself and he said, "I'm wondering about your grandparents, did they tell you why you were going to that hotel we found you at?"

"No, they just said we were going on a trip," Ivy said.

"But they didn't like our dad," Iris said. "They said he wasn't a good dad… they tried to make us say that."

"They did," Brad replied. When the girls both nodded he said, "Did they tell you that they wanted you to stay with them?"

"Yeah, forever," Ivy replied, nodding her head. "But we wanted to stay at our home."

"But Daddy is gone," Iris said before she started to cry, pressing against Skye's side again.

"Chief," Hutchinson said, opening the door after he'd called to her. "Mary McDouglas is here."

"Let her in," Brad said rapidly as he stood. "That's all we'll need to question them," he then directed to the social worker.

"We'll be outside," Beckett said to Skye who nodded. When she and Castle were outside with Brad she saw Mary walking hurriedly up to them. "She's inside," she said, not surprised when the woman detoured directly into the room. She stood with the two men, watching as Mary embraced her wife before they parted, and she looked down at the two girls as Skye was speaking. "Come on," she said to them, tugging them over to the chief's office to leave the others to their introduction and discussion.

"So, all that just for custody," Castle commented as he was soon watching his wife and friend taking down pictures.

"I've come across that; a couple years before we met," Beckett told her husband, handing her pictures to Brad.

"Me too, so it's not rare but since we focused so much on Langston…" the chief said. He sighed and then said as he watched Beckett erasing the board, "But they'll go to a better home; they're serious about adopting them at least."

"Who's gonna get adopted?" a child's voice said from the doorway.

"I told you," Castle said to his wife when they'd all looked together to find Julia there.

"No you didn't, you asked," Beckett said before she went to her daughter, relieved she'd erased the board by then. "Julia…"

"I came with Mary and said I would say I snuck into her… never mind," the girl said before she looked away.

"We wouldn't have believed you," Beckett said, cupping her chin.

"So, the board's blank now… are you done?" Julia asked, forgetting her earlier question.

"We are and we're going home right now," Castle said as he knew his wife was thinking that. He turned to Brad and said, "After we sign?"

"I'm getting it right now," Brad said a little absently as he was rifling through papers.

Julia watched her parents signing papers, eager to see what was on them but holding back as she knew they wouldn't want her to peek. So she waited, trying not to hop as she looked around. At one point, she looked at the doorway and was startled seeing that Skye and Mary were there with two little girls. "Hi," she said to what she thought were twins though they had different colored eyes.

"Hey, did you adopt them?" Beckett asked, turning at what Julia had said.

"Temporary custody," Skye replied. She went inside at Brad's summons and said, "We want to get home to introduce everyone so we're heading out."

"We'll join you," Castle said as he and Beckett had paused to let her sign.

"Who are they?" Julia asked immediately when the four had left.

"You heard Skye; we'll get introductions back at home," Beckett said with a smile, signing the last paper before her husband did. "See you tomorrow," she said to the chief.

Saying goodbye with his family as Brad waved to them, Castle took Julia's hand while Beckett got the other and they walked together out the door, saying goodbye to the officers on the way out to their vacation until that fall.


	20. Singing Me A Song

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _4th of July_ (just two lyrics from this one) by Paul McCartney; from the remastered deluxe edition of Venus and Mars; _Seems Like Old Times;_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney and _Ob-la-di Ob-la-da_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; from The Beatles eponymous album.

A/N #2: I loved getting the feedback for the last chapter, so will go ahead and start my thank yous for that! Guest (I was really happy to read that you really enjoy Skye and Mary. Means a lot that you think they're rich characters you really like reading about. You're very welcome for creating them. And don't worry, these two are my favorite of the original characters I have so they'll be around a lot more. I don't know if you gave me a review for the second half of the chapter, I'm taking a guess about that. But if it was you I did have to laugh a bit at the reaction to the McDouglas family continuing to grow. I had a feeling readers might think that but I am glad that it's a positive reaction and you're hoping everything works out for them and the two new girls. Really happy you can't wait to see them on vacation, again if it was you who sent me the review for the second half),

TORONTOSUN (It was nice to see you thought in the first half you thought it was good writing for Julia and Mari. And I was happy you thought the second half had good writing for everyone!),

Mb (Happy to see you thought the first half of the last chapter was a sweet update. And I agree, about the best friend living right next door like Julia and Mari do. I had a friend growing up not next door but the next house over so I know how that is, lol, and it's great. And yeah, better the families are so close that they're like family by choice as you said. Not surprised you were laughing that Julia showed up at the station after Skye had been wondering if she would. And yeah, I figured Julia wouldn't go so far to sneak out; not sure how she could since there are so many people at her home; but I knew she'd take Mari, lol. Great you enjoyed the flashback from Julia's perspective, I was hoping readers would like that difference. And not surprised you were at Julia telling Paul about Castle's dad, but with her doing that it's showing that she trusts him enough with the information. And I'm so pleased you think the back story I have for Castle's dad fits. I never was all that happy with how the show handled him, so I needed to bring closure for Martha and Castle and that was how I chose to do it. Nice to see you thought the first half was fantastic. And you're very welcome for sharing the first half too! It was nice to see you thought the way I wrapped up the case was nice. And I based the murder on an actual case I saw on real crime show. The mother of the child passed away and the parents hired someone to kill the father of their grandchild as they didn't want him to raise it… for no reason there was nothing wrong with the father. But you're right, the twins are the victims in the end with sadness in their hearts as you put it. I'm not surprised you're glad that Skye and Mary have such loving hearts, as you put it, or that you think they're from their past life too. I figured that would explain why they would want to adopt the two that quickly, so it was nice to see that you thought they're already in a way a part of them. And I had to laugh at your comment about Julia being her parents' child, lol, but you are right. Not surprised you mentioned they can celebrate the 4th without interruption and then go through the big vacation with to more added to the group, or extended family as you put it. And I actually have never said what Skye or Mary look like. Thinking about it I would say Skye looks kind of like Beckett, just not fully, maybe a differently shaped face and of course different colored eyes and glasses. As for Mary she looks, in my mind, like a young Megan Mullally a bit; again not exactly but close; and with blue-greyish colored eyes. But your ideas for them were interesting, but yeah, I should have put their description before, lol, to be clearer. You're welcome for the second half too!) and

MsNYC (Not surprised to see your reaction to them still being stuck on the case and I did laugh at you saying there was no family fun for Castle and Beckett yet, lol. Really happy that you love how David and Mari interacted with each other. And I was definitely touched that you're happy I capture a sweet daddy/daughter relationship with all the dads in my stories. Really, they just seem to me like they would be that way. I wasn't surprised to see you enjoyed the flashback, lol, but happy of course to read you thought it was awesome! I laughed when you said you froze too at the point where Beckett said Julia's full name. But I couldn't see them quite getting in trouble, lol. Oh and yeah, lol, I knew the same thing, when my full name was said, lol, I might be in trouble).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them all and am very grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric _Seems Like Old Times_ an unreleased song by Paul McCartney.

Singing Me A Song

"What do you think?" Lanie asked her friend.

"Since it's changed to them being their foster parents for the time being I get the feeling they'll be staying a little bit longer," Beckett replied with a slight smile as she was watching Skye and Mary talking to Ivy and Iris. The two girls had gone to the house with them; items from their home in bags that the social worker had gathered. The two women were a little late getting back and even later as they'd introduced their three children to who they were hoping to be their new sisters. But they'd brought the girls to the pool and had introduced them to everyone else.

"They're adorable," Lanie stated.

"I know," Beckett said with a nod. The girls were a little taller than Fleur; though they were two months younger than her; and had lighter brown hair though different colored eyes. Ivy's were blue while Iris' were green and they both had the same almond shape to them. She wasn't surprised the twins were very shy as they were a large crowd even without the Davises and Fosters; though Mari was still there. But as time had gone on and the other kids were playing with them they'd opened up more.

Shaking herself from her thoughts Beckett turned to Lanie and said, "How're you doing?"

"Good, though I could use some time in the pool," the doctor said with a smile.

"I'll follow you," Beckett said as she stood up.

"Can we go swimming now?" Eliza asked hopefully, going over to her.

"We can," Beckett replied. "Kids," she called. "Go ahead into the pool but please be very careful since there are a lot of us."

"Want to come with us?" Julia said, going over to the newest twins; as she was calling them in her head.

"Okay," Ivy said shyly. She stood up and then looked back with her twin to Skye and Mary, already comfortable with the two women. They'd spoken to them during the drive home about being adopted. She and Iris were startled learning if they did they would be moving to California. She looked around them and sighed, wishing their father was there to see the house and how much fun the party was. But as Julia took her hand she knew he would want them to still have fun; since he would tell them that. "Do you think Daddy knew what was gonna happen?" she whispered to her twin.

"Yeah," Iris said tearfully.

"He'll be happy to know you two are getting to swim," Skye said, having gone with them and hearing their conversation. She squeezed their shoulders and said, "And he'd want you safe which Mary and I will be sure to do." When the girls nodded she said, "Go ahead and swim."

"Think they'll be okay?" Beckett asked her friend, walking up to her.

"We'll see how things go tonight," Skye said with a sigh. "Sorry to use another air mattress of yours."

Shaking her head Beckett said firmly, "That's what they're for. You'll have enough room for it in your room."

"As you've said," Skye replied with a smile. To make sure that the twins would be alright with the change to their lives she and her wife were letting them stay in their room that night. She and Mary had discussed it and would let the two spend the next nights if they wanted to with either Julia or Eliza. She was sure they would be allowed to adopt the two; the social worker had said as much since she had pressed to the woman the two had been psychologically affected by what had happened between their foster father and foster grandparents; but she only hoped the process wouldn't take too long. Thinking of that she said to her friend, "I told them about the vacation."

Knowing she was talking about both the twins and CPS Beckett said, "That'll help?"  
"They also know who I am, they know Mary's a psychiatrist too, I've helped the Hamptons Police twice and I helped with their father's case," Skye said. "The problem is we might have to stay until the vacation at least."

"Would you be able to?" Beckett asked. She smiled at the look the investigator gave her and she said, "You can, we don't mind. But what about your house?"

"My dad's there remember," Skye said. "So he's staying and will continue to stay; he still doesn't want to go," she added with a smile. "But thank you."

"You're welcome. It's important you're able to take them back to California if there's time or take them to Florida and DC with us," Beckett said. She smiled briefly when her friend squeezed her arm before she went after the twins. She then turned and walked away from the pool herself, going to her husband so she could sit with him at the end of the lounge chair he was on while he was holding their youngest. As soon as she was with him she shared a kiss with him and took the baby before her husband was wrapping his arm around her waist firmly while she looked at him questioningly for that move.

"I haven't been able to do this that much lately," Castle said with a slight smile. When he saw his wife was looking at him pointedly he said, "What?"

"I can see you," Beckett replied. She then smiled and reached for him, cupping his cheek before they kissed briefly. "What is it you want exactly?"

"Can we take her in?" Castle asked.

Beckett couldn't help laughing before she leaned over again and brushed her lips to his saying, "We can but I'm holding her first."

"Since you have her now…" Castle said before he trailed off. He was going to stand up when his wife grabbed his arm and he looked at her in surprise.

"Go with Julia and Eliza while I'm sitting; we'll switch after," Beckett explained.

Pretending to think that over Castle nodded finally before he leaned over and kissed her again, a little deeper than the previous one until he moved away and went with her over to the steps.

"I was wondering if you two would join us," Lanie said, standing with her fiancé in the water.

"Josie too," Beckett said before she sat down on the top step. She wasn't surprised when her husband, on the bottom step, turned back to her and leaned over to press his lips to their baby's forehead. "Go," she told him before he suddenly leaned over to her.

Castle was relieved when his wife didn't try to stop him and instead kissed him back. He tried his best to put a little more pressure on her lips though he was soon after pulling away. "I'll be with the girls," he said as he and Beckett stared at each other for a little longer.

Watching her friend Lanie said wryly, "You're sure you're not going to have any more kids?"

Giving her a look Beckett said, "I'm sure, two was all I wanted."

"Just be careful," Lanie replied playfully as she looked away.

Beckett rolled her eyes before she said with a smile, "You told me what the best way was to do that."

"Just making sure you remember," Lanie said. She laughed when Beckett sighed exaggeratedly and then said, "She's gotten so big."

"I know," Beckett said as she had moved Josie to her arms so she was cradling her. Watching Lanie brush her fingers over her cheek she said, "At least she's alright."

"I told you too that with her fine at birth she had more chances of continuing to be so as she grew up," Lanie replied. "You're all finished with the case so when will you be going back to work?"

"Once we're finished with vacation down south we'll be going to Ireland for our anniversary," Beckett said. She saw the expression on her friend's face and said, "What?"

"Six years," Lanie told her.

"I'm aware," Beckett said jokingly. "So why that response? For me or Rick?"

Lanie thought for a moment and said, "Likely both, but that's just coming from knowing you two while you weren't together… and then pretending you weren't."

"Figures you'd throw that back at me," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "But I understand. Don't worry, we're still very happy." She was a little startled at the smirk on her friend's face and was going to ask what was going through her mind when Lanie put her hand on her arm quickly.

"You don't need to tell me, I just saw that," the doctor assured her. She looked around at everyone at the pool and said, "Who's staying?"

"Everyone that's here," Beckett said with a smile. "Would you want it just to be you guys from the city?"

"Pass," Skye said, walking up to them with a smile. "Sorry for butting in but she wanted to meet you," she directed to Lanie.

"I thought we already did," the doctor said, smiling widely at Iris who was on the investigator's hip.

"She likes the color of your skin… is that mean?" Ivy asked, having gone over with them as well.

"No… you haven't met many people what this color have you?" Lanie asked.

"No," Iris said, blinking away the tears she had gotten in her fear of making the woman mad.

"Come here," Lanie told her, patting the water next to her.

Beckett watched as the twins went up the stairs, slightly splashing, to stand with her friend. She laughed a little as Lanie held her hand out and Iris was quick to shake it. "She's glad to meet you," she told her friend.

"Yeah," Iris giggled. "Skye?"

"Yes," the woman said.

"Can I play with Maddy?" Iris asked shyly.

"Me too," Ivy said hurriedly.

"Of course," Nkosi said as he was going over to them with his daughter in his arms. "You will play with Eliza too right? She is Maddy's best friend."

"Yeah," the twins said at the same time. "And Fleur," Ivy added hurriedly.

Watching the twins go off with Nkosi and Maddy, Beckett said to Lanie, "I think they were homeschooled."

"That would make sense," Lanie said. She turned to the investigator and smiled saying, "I knew they were wondering, they were looking at me and Trevor once they saw us. They were just curious and they're kids… speaking of kids they also looked at Maddy and Keo."

"They asked me why your skin, and other people of African descent, had that color and I explained," Skye said. "I think they wanted to verify I wasn't lying and it was the same skin, just a different hue."

"Don't worry, I'm not offended," Lanie assured the woman. "So… you're really going to adopt them."

"I have to… what they've been through in their lives," Skye said with a sigh, watching the two jumping up and down in the water with Fleur before she turned back to the two women.

"What they've been through?" Beckett asked, sharing a look with Lanie.

Nodding her head Skye said, "I mentioned they were homeschooled."

"Are they okay mentally?" Lanie said.

"Talking with them I think so," Skye said. "They're lucky there are two of them."

Lanie was nodding before she thought of something suddenly and turned to Beckett, seeing she was looking down at Josie and cuddling her close. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "It's alright, she's good now." She smiled at Lanie to reassure her and looked over at Julia, seeing her swimming to the three girls who were away from the others. She then looked for her husband before she found him coming to her. She smiled and said, "Okay?"

"Yeah, they want to play with everyone else too," Castle explained. " _Are you alright_?" he asked her in Irish.

Beckett explained; in Irish; what they'd spoken about before she added, " _I just wanted to spend time with her, after her coming to us that many times_."

Nodding, since Julia had never really visited them twice before, Castle held his arms out to her. He watched with a smile on his face as she was kissing their youngest on the top of her head. He took the baby and was about to speak to Lanie and Skye when he saw they were both leaving; the former to see Dylan at the other end of the pool and the latter to the twins and Fleur.

"Hey Mom," Julia said with a smile as she saw her swimming over to her. "I think I got ditched," she said jokingly.

"Sweetie," Beckett said as something had suddenly occurred to her. "You weren't trying to ask the twins about what happened to them today were you?"

"No, they're like I used to be," Julia said firmly. "I wouldn't remind them about it, you didn't do that with me when I was very little."

"Thank you," Beckett said, squeezing her hand firmly. She continued with a smile, "Want to play now?"

"Where's Mari?" Julia asked, looking around the outside of the pool.

"With Patrick," Beckett said in surprise. "Why?"

"I just remembered something," Julia said. She climbed out right there and with a smile said, "I was telling her about the one night Dad brought leaves and apples."

"Oh really?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yep, I stopped though after I told you about my apple peel necklace," Julia replied. "I'm gonna finish telling her now."

"Alright," Beckett said, climbing out as well. She then smiled at her oldest's shock before they went together to the chair as Mari and Darnley both looked at them in surprise.

"Remember the story I was telling you?" Julia said to her friend.

"Oh… you want to tell me it right now?" Mari asked, confused. "But everyone-"

"You're gonna have to leave but they'll all stay," Julia replied. "I want to tell you now before we go back to the pool… again."

"Okay," Mari said with a wide smile.

"What story?" Darnley asked his friend.

Beckett quickly explained to him what Julia was talking about before she finished by saying, "It was that that led Rick to get me my necklace," reaching up to brush her fingertips over her aquamarine and diamond pendant.

"That's a great story," Darnley said, nodding his head. "What else is there to say?"

Julia smiled, since she knew he was teasing her, and she said, "After the apples were peeled, Mom and Dad cut them into rings and we all sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them before they started to bake. And that was when Grandpapa came over."

* * *

 _"Hi Grandpapa!" Julia said eagerly when her grandfather walked through the door._

 _"Hello Julia, I didn't scare you, did I?" Jim asked as he walked over to them._

 _"You could have taken off your coat Dad," Beckett said with a smile._

 _"I wanted to see my granddaughter," Jim explained as he handed her the bottle of juice he'd bought at her request. He got his coat off before turning to Julia, picking her up and hugging her tightly._

* * *

"Is that the end of the story?" Mari asked in surprise.

Julia shook her head before she giggled and then outright laughed as her friend playfully pushed her. "Sorry but Grandpapa and I set the table and then we all watched Mom cooking the dinner."

"It was chicken with pumpkin sauce or something," Beckett said, not surprised when the others all looked at her. "I don't remember exactly except it needed a wok. And we'd made pumpkin biscuits together; I remember that because we took a selfie together with flour on our faces."

"What happened afterwards?" Mari said, looking at Julia.

"Maybe I shouldn't have talked like it was a big story," the girl said, looking at her mother.

"It's okay, not every single one needs to have a big thing to it," Beckett said.

"Though this one had the idea for your necklace Kate," Darnley told her.

"That's true," Beckett replied with a smile. She then said to him and Mari, "We didn't really do much after dinner. We played some of Julia's games and had the dessert which turned out to be good."

"What about the leaves?" Mari asked.

"I forgot about them," Julia said.

"We all forgot about them," Beckett corrected. "Not until the next day when she found them." And there she took over from her daughter as she wanted to give hers and Castle's point of view while they'd watched their daughter finding the leaves.

* * *

 _"Mommy! Castle look, it's the leaves!" Julia said, spotting them on the shelves near her mother's desk._

 _"Oh… we should get started on our art," Castle said, joining his girlfriend while he dried off his hands._

 _"You don't want to?" Beckett asked her daughter._

 _Looking thoughtful Julia shook her head and said, "Let's throw them!"_

 _"We can," Beckett said, not surprised when Castle glanced at her. She then turned to her daughter and said, "But we need to pick them up again sweetie; and clean up."_

 _"Kay," Julia replied. She tried to pick up the leaves but had some trouble before she looked at her mother. She smiled when Castle came over to take them instead and said, "Thank you."_

 _"You're welcome," he replied. "You know there aren't too many leaves here so there won't be a lot of throwing."_

 _"I know, but it's fun," Julia said, eyeing the leaves he set on the coffee table eagerly._

 _Beckett was a little startled when her boyfriend went over to her and murmured into her ear before she smiled. She cupped his face briefly before she said, "Go ahead."_

 _"What happened Mommy?" Julia asked._

 _"Close your eyes," Castle told her. When the little girl had done so he went to the leaves and picked up the towel holding them before shaking them onto her._

 _Julia squealed when something brushed her head and she giggled as she opened her eyes to find that it was the leaves. She held her hands out and caught some carefully before she was throwing them at her mother. When her mother grabbed some from the floor she squealed again as they started to throw them at each other repeatedly until they were broken and scattered all over the floor._

 _"Okay," Beckett said with a smile. "I think we need to pick up." Before the other two could say anything, she said to her boyfriend, "Do I have anything in my hair?"_

 _Castle was quick to rush to her, running his fingers through her hair until he finally said, "No, it's clear."_

 _Giving him a look; as she knew he hadn't had to do that; Beckett nodded and said, "Better get the vacuum cleaner."_

* * *

"What a horrible place to leave that at," Darnley said teasingly.

"Why?" Beckett asked, laughing softly.

"Did you kiss?" Darnley said.

"We did," Beckett replied, glancing at Julia.

"They did and for a long time too, I started to pick up the pieces and was going to run back and forth to put them away," the girl said, smiling at the other two. "But then they stopped, and we cleaned up together. That was a lot of fun," she then directed to her mother.

"It was," Beckett said with a nod. "Okay, so I can hear your sister crying, she needs her nap."

"Do you need to nurse her?" Darnley asked. When his friend looked at him he smiled and said, "I wanted to go up to see you put her down for the nap… if that's okay."

"It is, come anyways," Beckett said. "I'll be back, stay here okay?" she told her daughter.

"Sure," Julia said. She then turned to her friend and said, "Let's get Erin and the tw… Marie and Kath and the rafts."

Beckett, having watched the two head over to the three girls, walked with Darnley to her husband and said, "He's going to join us."

"Sure," Castle said, reluctantly letting the baby go to her mother though he knew Josie needed her. He walked after his wife up to the house until they were inside where he walked with her. "I thought she'd start sooner," he commented.

"She was having fun," Darnley said behind the couple. He smiled at his friend and then said, "You enjoy this?"

"Of course," Beckett said though she knew he was asking because Josie was fully crying by then. She hurried into the baby's room and went to the rocking chair, sitting and settling Josie to her right breast to start nursing her. She looked over at Darnley; who'd been looking away; and was about to let him know it was okay to look when her husband did that for her.

"It's alright," Castle said. "Though I'm wondering why you wanted to see this."

"Rick," Beckett said warningly.

"I'm not surprised he's asking," Darnley said reassuringly to his friend. He then told the two, "I just wanted to watch you doing this, it blows my mind."

"What, the nursing?" Castle asked.

"He means me myself," Beckett said.

"You were just in a vest with a gun and now…" Darnley said before nodding to the baby.

"It's not dual personalities," Beckett replied with a smile.

"No but it's impressive," Darnley said. He then asked the two about their plans before their vacation and they spoke about that for a while before he heard his husband calling to him and said, "That's one of the kids."

"Now it's your turn," Beckett said.

Darnley paused, as he'd been about to walk over to the doorway, before he said, "I guess you're right," with a smile before he slipped out, closing the door behind him.

"Oh, thank god," Castle said, rushing over to his wife.

"What-" Beckett started to say when he suddenly pulled her out of the chair. She let him take her because she couldn't delay switching Josie to her other breast and luckily soon she was doing so while she was sitting on the bed. "Rick-" she began to say.

Leaning over Castle kissed his wife on the lips, wrapping his left arm around her while his right reached up to cup her cheek. With that done he slowly slipped his tongue within his wife's mouth before they rubbed against each other repeatedly. Parting for the chance to breathe he murmured, " _Níos_ ," waiting almost breathlessly for her to respond.

Since he'd stated the word more instead of saying it as a question Beckett smiled slightly and said, " _I gcónaí_ ," telling him always. When he kissed her again she reached up to him, forgetting he didn't have a shirt on before she placed her hand on his bare chest. "Sorry," she murmured when he broke off their kiss with a shudder.

"It's okay," Castle murmured before they were kissing again. He didn't want to make it too passionate as he knew Josie was going to finish soon but couldn't resist the taste of his wife and the feel of her lips crushed so forcefully against his. Eventually; after the fourth kiss in that manner; he tore himself away before he said, "We need… I need to get a towel."

Watching him go Beckett turned her attention to Josie, relieved to see she was still nursing and was fine, her fist running back at forth over the top of her breast. Just as she was going to look back up at her husband the baby pulled away and she said with a smile, "You're just in time," as Castle had come back to her.

"I'm good like that," he replied, smiling when his wife rolled her eyes. Castle put Josie against his shoulder and proceeded to burp her before he said, "I really am sorry but…"

"You're right, we haven't done that much today," Beckett said, fixing the top of her bikini once she'd cleaned herself up. When she looked at her husband she saw his gaze on her chest and said simply, "Love."

"Yeah…" Castle said slowly though he didn't look away.

Beckett couldn't help laughing softly before she said, "Rick, stop or I'm throwing you into a cold shower. We need to go back to everyone."

"True," Castle said, shaking his head and looking down at Josie. He kissed the top of her head and said, "I couldn't help that either."

"You're lucky I know," Beckett said as she stood up then to go to him. "I love you," she said.

Leaning over; since he had his hands busy with Josie; Castle pressed his forehead against hers telling her, "I love you too. Will you be alright with no case until… maybe even December?"

"Of course," Beckett said. "We can spend a little more time with Julia before she's back here for middle school."

Castle handed the baby back to his wife as he'd finished before he said, "I thought of that too. And of course, there's also now."

"We can go," Beckett said. "Once she's asleep."

Watching her walk around with Josie against her shoulder, Castle leaned against the dresser and waited with her for the baby to fall asleep. Once he saw she had he went with Beckett to the crib, pressing a kiss to Josie's forehead and murmuring goodnight to her.

"We'll stay with you now sweetie," Beckett said to the baby gently. "I'm just telling you so you know we'll be here when you wake up." Kissing Josie's forehead, she leaned over to put the baby into the crib and she reached down, running her fingers over the baby's hair.

"Come on love," Castle said gently as he touched her arm.

With a smile Beckett went with her husband out the door, not surprised to see Max and Molly were laying down in the hall. "You two can stay with her tonight," she told the dogs. "We're going down to the pool," she added firmly, snapping her fingers. When she started to walk she realized she was on her own, making her turn her head. Seeing her husband and the dogs walking behind her she smiled and then waited at the top of the stairs for him to catch up. As soon as he had she took his hand and together they made their way down to spend the rest of the daylight hours there were with their family and friends by the pool.

* * *

"Julia?"

Looking up from her desk where she was getting her diary out on the top of it for later, the girl smiled at Ivy and Iris who were standing in the doorway to her room. "Are you guys ready for dinner?" she asked them.

"Yeah, Skye and Mary said we could come play with you," Iris said.

"But we wanted to talk," Ivy then said.

"Come inside," Julia said, smiling again. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You want to know about us, don't you?" Ivy asked her.

Julia started to open her mouth but the paused as she wasn't sure how to answer that exactly.

"To know what happened to us earlier," Iris added.

"Well… yeah but I wasn't gonna ask," Julia said, glancing at Mari who was with her in the room as everyone was getting changed or taking a shower before dinner. "It's not my business."

"You don't help your parents too do you?" Iris asked her.

"No, I wish I could," Julia answered.

"She does," Mari piped up. "Think I can ask you something?"

"Okay," Ivy said, wondering what she wanted to know.

"Are you gonna be okay with Skye and Mary?" Mari asked.

Julia looked at her friend in surprise when the twins glanced at each other and said, "If you don't think-"

"No, we like them," Iris said first. "Skye's really nice but we miss our daddy."

Nodding her head Julia told her, "Of course you do. You're always going to, right?" When the two nodded she was dismayed to see they were a little teary-eyed and she then said, "They won't let you forget your dad."

"Skye said we can take pictures of us with him if we go with them to California," Ivy said. "We've never been there before."

"We've never been anywhere," Iris corrected her sister.

As Ivy was nodding, Julia said, "You only stayed around here?"

"Yeah… where've you been?" Ivy asked.

"Oh… different places," Julia said. She gasped and said, "Do you know where we're all going soon?"

"Skye said, to Disney World and Universal Studios and Washington DC," Iris said excitedly. "Oh, I hope we get to go!"

"Me too, that would be so cool," Ivy said, nodding rapidly to her twin.

"Have you read the Harry Potter books?" Mari asked.

"Yep, but we like Harry and Hermione the most," Ivy replied. "Do you?"

"Yeah, did you ever get sorted?" Julia asked as she rushed to her closet.

"Like… really sorted," Iris asked, looking over at Marie, Kathleen and Fleur who entered the room with Erin hot on their heels.

"There's a place on the computer where you can do that," Kathleen said first. "I forgot to ask you about Harry Potter. Think we can do that now?"

"We can, I know how to make new e-mail addresses," Julia said.

"You might want to wait and ask their… ask Skye and Mary about that," Castle said, standing in the doorway.

"Oh… Dad do you think it's okay-" Julia started to say.

"Ask them okay?" Castle asked gently.

"We'll go," Marie said before she and her sisters left.

"Where are we gonna eat dinner?" Julia said to her father while they waited.

"On the beach," Castle said. He was about to add to that when they heard the three girls crying out as they ran back down the hall to them to his amusement.

"We can do that right now, you just have to write down their e-mail and passwords for our moms to keep for them," Kathleen said first.

"Have you done that?" Ivy asked Fleur.

Nodding the little girl said, "I'm in Ravenclaw."

"Cool," Ivy replied.

Walking inside the room then Skye said, "I also told you three to wait for us before you started the sorting."

"I'm here," Mary said as she hurried in after her wife. She smiled at Skye and then said, "Now you can start."

As she walked up to Josie's room with Lanie, Beckett could hear her daughter asking questions and she said to her friend, "I think they're sorting the twins."

"That Harry Potter thing you told me about?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah, I told you about the robes, right?" Beckett said.

"You did, excuse me," Lanie said. "I'm going to find Dylan."

Beckett smiled as she watched her friend go down the stairs before she continued into the room. She was still smiling as she stepped inside in time to hear Julia asking Iris, "Are you ready to find out what house you're in?"

"Yeah," the little girl said eagerly. Iris watched Julia click her mouse before the logo for Hufflepuff popped up.

"That's a good house," Julia said hurriedly, not sure what the little girl would think. "That's Newt Scamander's house."

"Oh, I remember," Iris said with a nod. "Now your turn," she said to her twin with a smile.

"Remember to answer those questions as truthfully as you can," Skye said as she put her arm around Iris who'd come over to her.

Beckett felt her husband's hand on her back and she smiled at him, distracted from her thoughts of how much Skye was acting like a mother to the two already. But when Mary ran her hand over the back of Iris's hair she saw it wasn't just the investigator.

"Okay, we're almost there," Julia was saying. She asked one more question and said, "Here we go…"

"No! That's the bad one!" Ivy said in dismay as the crest for Slytherin was there.

"Not really," Mary said quickly. "It means you're cunning which means you'll do what it takes for something you need."

"Yeah and you're not bad," Mari said.

Hearing the others agree to that Ivy was about to speak when Kathleen touched her arm to stop her.

"I'm in that house too," the little girl said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Ivy asked.

"Yep, so you can be with me in my house," Kathleen replied.

"Cool," Ivy replied.

"Can we look at the patron- Mom, Dad they have the animagi test now!" Julia said eagerly.

"You're going to have to wait to do that later," Beckett said gently. "Almost everyone is here and I'm sure you guys are hungry."

"I know I am," Castle said.

"Besides you," Beckett said, playfully rolling her eyes at her husband. She smiled with him as the others laughed and they led the others out and then down to the bottom floor where Paul and Nancy were talking with Lanie and Dylan.

"So, are we performing at all?" Paul asked Skye and Mary once they were all walking to the beach except for Castle, Beckett and Esposito.

"I would imagine; Ivy and Iris would like to hear you," Skye said.

"And you," the latter said.

"Just a couple songs… inside?" Skye replied, looking questioningly at Paul.

Nodding the singer said, "For now where are we going to sit?"

"I have blankets," Jim said, holding them up. "Katie suggested we stay on the grass for now." When he got no real protests to the idea, the kids chasing each other around on the sand directly in front of the grass, he had Ryan and Brennan help him lay out enough blankets for them to all fit on. Once they were ready he sat with the latter and Clara before looking out at Alexis and Louis who'd gone after the kids with Beatrice. "I should have gone inside."

"I get the feeling Kate wouldn't let you help out," Lanie said with a smile as she'd heard that. "I'm surprised Javi was allowed to stay."

"Not for that long," Esposito commented as he walked out to them with a tray in his hands.

"Do they need help?" Lanie asked, about to stand up.

"Beckett said if you get up she's going to throw you in the water," Esposito replied.

"That does sound like her," Lanie said to her fiancé with a smile on her face.

"At least you listened," Beckett said, coming out with some plates and napkins. "The pizzas are here so someone try to get the kids- Rick!"

"What? I told you I could bring everything," Castle replied easily as he was carrying all the boxes.

"At least we don't need to get the kids," Darnley said with a smile as he was taking Maddy from Eliza who'd brought her over.

With so many of them still there the time between getting their slices of pizza and sitting to eat them was relatively quick. They also couldn't talk all together, with their numbers, so the families mostly talked to one another before Dylan was suddenly calling to everyone towards the end of the meal.

"Just wanted to thank you all for including me in this," the man said with a smile.

"Let me," Lanie said, giving her fiancé a look. "We have an announcement," she then said before coming a little hesitant. Finally, she smiled and told everyone, "We're pregnant."

Beckett, as soon as she heard that, jumped up and nearly ran to her friend, waiting for her to stand up. "I knew it," she told her with a wide smile on her face.

"How?" Lanie asked.

"I've gone through it twice," Beckett replied before they hugged each other tightly. "I'm so happy for you. How far along?"

Lanie couldn't reply at first as she was being hugged by Jenny, but as soon as the woman let her go she told them, "Just a little over a month and a half, it's due in the middle of February."

"Are you going to find out what it is?" Darnley asked as they were all standing and congratulating the couple.

"We are, I want to be ready for this baby," Lanie said with a nod.

"You will be," Beckett said with a smile. "Good thing you're getting married soon."

Lanie wrinkled her nose at her friend, knowing that Beckett was joking, before she turned back to the others to take their congratulations until finally they had spoken to everyone and they started to clean up.

Beckett went with her friend to sit with her at her husband's assistance and she wasn't surprised when the other women joined them. She was about to comment on the fact that they were all mothers; or expectant mothers; when Skye interrupted the first word out of her mouth to her amusement, not interrupting her in turn as she had a feeling already what her friend was going to say and wanted to let her do so.

"So, we're all mothers here," Skye commented before she looked around. With a smile she said, "Although I think if Patrick or Trevor had joined us it still would have worked."

"Are we having a coven then?" Clara said jokingly.

"No, you're all going to give me advice aren't you?" Lanie asked.

"We can't," Mary said, indicating herself and Skye. "Raising the baby, sure, but actual pregnancy is their prerogative."

Nancy said then, "We're not going to give you advice, not unless you want it. It annoyed me to no end to hear other women telling me stuff I didn't ask about."

Nodding Lanie said, "That would be nice if you did that too. Did you all have morning sickness?"

"I did," Jenny said. "You remember."

"And me," Clara said. "But only briefly in the morning so I was lucky."

"Me as well," Nancy said with a nod.

Beckett was about to speak when Lanie squeezed her arm and said, "Don't, I know you didn't have any, both times."

"Do you hate me?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"No just really jealous," Lanie said. "I hope everything will be okay."

"What has your doctor said?" Skye asked.

"She said that just because I'm forty now doesn't mean I'm automatically going to have issues," Lanie replied. "I just want this baby, badly, with us."

"You will," Jenny said reassuringly. "We'll be there for you if you need us; all of us."

Lanie smiled as the other women; even Clara; agreed to that before she looked over at Nancy. She didn't really think the woman would agree to that before the singer's wife was smiling at her.

"I'd be happy to help should you need it," Nancy said.

"Thanks, all of you," Lanie replied. "And I think we should turn our attention back to the guys," she added.

Turning Beckett saw that they were coming down the grass to them and she smiled as she saw her husband being surrounded by most of the kids. "Try and throw that," she called jokingly to him as she saw he was holding something.

"Are you crazy?" Castle asked jokingly. "And I don't have the stuff for s'mores; it's the cookies they made earlier."

"They might lay off you if you give them one bro," Esposito said in amusement as they were sitting on the blankets again.

Shaking his head, Castle turned his attention to the box with the cookies and opened it as Jim was passing out coffee or milk for them. "You kids did a great job with these," he commented as he looked at the decorations before the kids were taking the ones they wanted.

"Is this for me?" Paul said with a smile as Eliza was handing him a cookie.

"Yeah, that's the flag for Ireland," Eliza said. "Jules made it."

"Thank you," Paul called, remembering watching her decorate it.

"You're welcome," Julia said with a smile before she felt her mother wrap her arm around her to hug her quickly to her side. She then, to distract herself from her embarrassment, leaned over at her littlest sister who was in her carrier next to their mother.

"She's alright," Beckett said, checking on the baby herself. "Keep eating your cookie."

Julia nodded and took another bite of her sugar cookie before she said, "When can they play?"

"Do you have a song in mind?" Skye asked her.

With a brief nod of her head Julia started to speak but then stopped herself before she said, "It's on the piano though."

"The sun's still not down yet," Erin commented.

"That doesn't matter," Brennan said in amusement. "We'd go inside at some point anyway."

"Give them an hour," Beckett said. "Or so in the water; just wading though. And we'll go inside."

"We can't stay out any longer?" Iris asked shyly.

"I'm afraid not," Mary said with a smile. "But you know we'll be out here all day tomorrow."

"Really?" Iris and her sister said at the same time.

"Of course," Skye said. "It's the Fourth of July." She and Paul glanced at each other and then began to sing together, " _Why am I crying? It's the Fourth of July_."

After they'd laughed together Paul said, "Still a bit grim Julia." He then noticed the younger twins and said, "What's wrong?"

"You really can sing," Ivy said in awe.

As the others were laughing Marie said, "She wouldn't lie about that."

"She's right, I wouldn't," Skye said. "You'll see in a bit how we sing. Now go and play until we need to go inside."

Since the kids were finished with their cookies and milk they left to go play, only Josie, Danny and Keo staying with their parents.

"This is what you have to look forward to," Beckett said to Lanie as her friend came to sit with her.

"Trust me, I've thought of that constantly," the doctor said, watching the kids running around each other in some kind of game on the sand and through the breaking waves.

"What was Dylan's reaction?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"He's ecstatic," Lanie replied quickly. She smiled herself and then looked at her friend saying, "He was speechless for a while before he put his hands on my stomach. He still couldn't speak, but when I saw the way his hands were shaking and how he was looking up at me… I knew he definitely wanted the baby."

"Romantic," Beckett said. "Did he ever say anything though?"

"That he loved me," Lanie said simply. She laughed a little when her friend hugged her and said, "I was very happy with that of course."

"Were you afraid he wouldn't want the baby?" Beckett asked.

Shaking her head Lanie said, "I knew he wanted kids; we'd talked about that when his niece was born last year. We just…"

"Was this planned?" Beckett asked, knowing she wouldn't mind her saying that.

"It was but since December," Lanie replied. "And I only found out two weeks ago."

"It's not always a quick thing," Beckett said, knowing what she meant by that.

"No, but you wouldn't be surprised that I worried," Lanie said.

"I can understand," Beckett replied as she squeezed her friend's hand. "Just promise me you'll keep calm?"

"Yeah, Dylan will make sure I do," Lanie said, nodding her head. "So you don't need to worry." When Josie started to cry she watched Beckett pick her up and smiling at the way her friend was cuddling the baby she asked, "The automatically knowing what to do is real right?"

Smiling at her Beckett nodded and said, "It's instinctive. Plus, Dylan's good with kids you said."

"He is," Lanie said, watching with her as some of the parents were going to the kids. She then recalled Josie and looked over at the baby, smiling as she saw she was already asleep. "Is it her bed time?"

"It is but I'll wait for Rick to come back," Beckett said. She looked over at Lanie when she squeezed her arm and watched her go over to her fiancé who was with Brennan and Darnley. She was surprised when Esposito walked over to her and sat with her before she said, "Got tired of the kids?"

"Not really," Esposito said, reaching over as if he was going to touch the back of Josie's head before he moved his hand away. "I just saw she was asleep," he told his former partner.

"That's okay," Beckett said. "I'm glad we got to work together again," she continued.

"Yeah, so was I," Esposito said simply. They were both looking out at everyone else before he began, "If you had the chance to move back to the city would you and rejoin the PD?"

Beckett wasn't surprised by the question, as she had been expecting it each time she saw the detective, but she still waited a moment, checking on Josie before she turned to him. "We can't," she said.

"You can say that that quickly?" Esposito asked in surprise.

"Yes," Beckett replied. She sighed and then said, "We're never going to be safe enough in the city to investigate again Javi. We have three children who need us to keep them safe. Rick and I swore we were going to do everything we could to accomplish that and what we have here is safety. And we're happy here though we miss you guys in the city, our professional relationship and our civilian relationship."

Esposito smiled at that phrase and then said, "I really wish you could come back."

Though she wanted to say the same thing Beckett found she couldn't exactly and she was sure the guilt in that was showing on her face as her friend studied her.

"You enjoy it here too," Esposito stated.

"I do it's…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off in thought. "It's what I've wanted but never really let myself think of. I had to help others find some sense of justice for their families, their loved ones or friends. I can do that here too but still be a mother and wife."

"That you wanted too?" Esposito asked.

"I did, I wasn't searching for it actively… both just came to me," Beckett said.

Esposito laughed slightly before he said, "You went to the second one at that party."

Beckett shrugged and then said, "Hold Josie for me? We need to get her to bed." When she saw the detective looked uncertain she said, "Rick and I, not you."

"Sure," Esposito replied before he reached out for the baby.


	21. Singing Me A Song (Part 2)

Once she was sure her friend was set holding Josie, Beckett turned down to the sand and went to her husband saying, "Are you busy?"

"Josie?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he said to Ryan, "Let them know we're putting the baby to bed."

"We'll probably do the same with Danny soon," the detective replied with a nod. "Should we just get everyone inside?"

"Sure, but you don't need to do it right this second," Beckett said before she spotted Jenny taking Danny from Kathleen. "Or maybe you will. Come on Rick," she then said to her husband.

"Do we really have to go in?" Julia asked her big sister when she touched her shoulder and she could see a lot of the group were leaving.

"You do," Alexis replied. "But hey Skye and Paul are going to play remember?"

"Oh! I didn't tell them the songs," Julia said with a gasp before she took her sister's hand and walked with her up to the house. She said goodnight to Danny with everyone else and then hurried to do the same to Josie, saying she loved her too before the two babies were taken upstairs. She rushed with Mari over to the singer and said, "Paul."

"Yes commandant," the singer replied as he saluted.

Julia tried to be serious and started to speak before she laughed with Mari and then the other kids. When she calmed down she then said, "I know what songs you should play."

"And what are those?" Paul asked. He leaned over as Julia motioned to him and when she whispered the two titles into his ear he pulled back and said, "So secretive."

"You can't play them?" the girl asked in slight disappointment as she thought his response meant that.

"I think we can, tell Skye," Paul told her.

Nodding Julia went over to the investigator quickly and told her the titles before she said, "Can you play them?"

"I think we can, we'll have to wait for everyone else to get back though," Skye said, nodding her head.

Julia rushed over to the stairs then, to see if her parents were going to come down when she saw it was Ryan and Jenny instead.

"They're coming right now," the former said when he saw the girl.

"Is there going to be a performance?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, I forgot about Danny," Julia said. When she saw the two looked confused she smiled and said, "You put him in Josa's room and you're at the hotel."

"We don't want him to wake up with the music," Jenny replied.

"That's why we closed the door and had Max and Molly stay outside," Beckett said as she and Castle had reached the top of the stairs and began going down them. Reaching her oldest she took her hand and they walked over to the living room where she'd been able to see everyone walking to. "Did she tell you what you're going to play?" she asked the singer and Skye.

"I didn't tell them Mom, I asked," Julia said, having let go of her mother's hand to walk over to the piano where Paul was sitting while Skye was putting on her acoustic guitar.

"What's the song?" Castle asked.

" _Seems Like Old Times_ ," Paul said. "Ready?" he directed to Skye. When she nodded he played them in before singing with the investigator very quickly after the first chord, Mary joining them on the chorus.

 _The other day I met someone I had known in another lifetime  
Oh, puzzle pieces lost without a trace fell into place in my mind  
But both knew what we were getting into  
And we didn't want to stop  
No, we wouldn't want to miss it_

 _Cause it seems like old times  
So like long ago that I hardly even know  
Who's who anymore  
What's new anymore  
So like long ago that it seems like told times_

 _Familiar music man singing me a song from another lifetime  
And urgent letters waiting for the post were uppermost in my mind  
But he got through and then before we knew it_

 _We didn't want to stop  
No, we wouldn't want to miss it  
Didn't want to stop  
No, we wouldn't want to miss it  
Cause it seems like old times  
So like long ago that I hardly even know  
Who's who anymore  
What's new anymore  
So like long ago that it seems like old times_

At the slight instrumental there, Beckett looked at her husband and smiled as they'd both been watching their oldest as she was watching Skye and Paul when they sang. She laughed shortly when Paul leaned playfully towards her and then seemed to speak to her. She wondered what he'd said, since it was low enough for her not to hear but for Julia to, but before she could think about that for long the two were starting to sing again.

 _When you reappeared and the moment I had always feared  
Is upon me I felt slightly weird that's for sure  
Now life is good to me though I don't see who I used to see  
No, it's not quite what it used to be anymore_

 _The other day I met someone I had known in another lifetime  
Oh, puzzle pieces lost without a trace fell into place in my mind  
But we both knew what we were getting into_

 _And we didn't want to stop  
No, we wouldn't want to miss it  
I don't want to stop  
No, I wouldn't want to miss it  
Because it feels, yes 'cause it seems like old times  
So like long ago that I hardly even know  
Who's who anymore  
What's new anymore  
So like long ago that it seems like old times_

 _Seems like old times  
So like long ago that I hardly even know  
Who's who anymore  
What's new anymore  
What's true anymore  
So like long ago that it seems like old times_

Paul, Skye and Mary all sang together, trailing off a little bit before they laughed and the singer shook the women's hands.

"Fantastic job," Paul said when the applause had stopped.

"That's so cool, the way you sang 'what's true anymore'," Julia couldn't help gushing as he was looking at her.

"Say the same to these two," Paul said. "They handled that very well."

"We've listened to your recording… many times," Skye said. "So, shall we move on? And are we just having you play?"

"Do you know how to play it on guitar?" Paul asked both her and Mary. He smiled at their nods and then said, "Then Skye grab your Hofner bass and Mary your acoustic."

Beckett tried that time to ask what the singer was saying to her oldest when he'd called her over but before she could Skye was strumming her Hofner that was plugged into her amp and speaking to Paul.

"Should we have them all sing the chorus?" the investigator said with a smile.

"Yeah," Paul replied. He looked back at the others and said, "If you know this you can join in, don't hold back." He turned to Skye and Mary and when they nodded he began to play the opening on the piano, startled when the two women and then Julia on the other side of him began to clap as there was on the song. He was laughing at the way Julia was laughing herself, so much so he nearly missed where the lyrics began though Skye caught him in time with a slight mistake on her Hofner and he joined her in beginning the song.

 _Desmond has a barrow in the market place  
Molly is the singer in a band  
Desmond says to Molly 'girl I like your face'  
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand_

Paul motioned with his hand as rapidly as he could before the chorus started, not surprised when he heard most of the children singing, seeing Mari go to Julia as they sang together with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders to his amusement.

 _Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on  
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on_

 _Desmond takes a trolley to the jewelers' store  
Buys a twenty-carat golden ring (golden ring)  
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door  
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing (to sing)_

Julia smiled as Mary was singing after Paul and Skye on two of those lines, winking at the McDouglas kids and the other twins. She shook herself then, as she and the other kids were singing the chorus together again.

 _Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on  
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on_

 _In a couple of years they have built  
A home sweet home  
With a couple of kids running in the yard  
Of Desmond and Molly Jones_

Paul looked at Skye with a laugh as she let out a, "Ha, ha, ha," as was in the original recording of the song and he nodded to her before they continued.

 _Happy ever after in the marketplace  
Desmond lets the children lend a hand  
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face  
And in the evening she still sings it with the band_

 _Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on  
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on_

 _In a couple of years they have built  
A home sweet home  
With a couple of kids running in the yard  
Of Desmond and Molly Jones_

 _Happy ever after in the marketplace  
Desmond lets the children lend a hand  
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face  
And in the evening she still sings it with the band_

 _Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on  
Ob-la-di ob-la-da life goes on bra  
La la how the life goes on  
And if you want some fun  
Sing ob-la-di-bla-da_

Applauding with the others Castle waited until things had quieted down before asking, "Does anyone want something to drink?"

"I need to get Mari back home," Beckett said then.

"Mom-" Julia began.

Shaking her head Beckett told her, "You know what David and Rebecca said, you're lucky they let her come over."

Pouting Julia said, "Then can I go with you at least?"

"Of course; Eliza you'll stay with your daddy, right?" Beckett asked her. She smiled when the little girl looked hesitant at first but finally nodded before she watched Julia going to everyone from the city as they were going to head back to their hotel since Tommy was starting to grow antsy because he was tired. She went to Lanie last as she said goodnight to them as well and told her, "Will you be okay tomorrow?"

"I might rest somewhere in the house if that's okay," Lanie replied. "You were so lucky."

"I know," Beckett said with a slight smile. "But you can do that if you need to, just rest and drink ginger tea if you've got it."

"She does," Dylan said as he'd been close enough to hear that. "I've been making her drink it."

"Constantly, I'm surprised I'm not swimming in it," Lanie said with an exasperated expression though she smiled soon after at her fiancé.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Beckett said, knowing she had to get Mari home so David or Rebecca wouldn't have to walk over to the house. She called a final goodbye to everyone and went outside with Julia and Mari.

"What time are you gonna come over tomorrow?" the former asked the latter.

"I dunno, I know we're going to have breakfast at home," Mari told her. "Mommy wants us to do that," she added with a smile. "I can't wait until we go to Universal."

"Me too," Julia said with a nod. "But we're going to Disney first."

"We are," Beckett said with a slight laugh as the two girls looked at her. "We'll enjoy that too."

"Will Ivy and Iris come with us?" Mari asked her.

"I really don't know for sure," Beckett replied. "I'm hoping and that they'll allow the twins to stay with Skye and Mary."

"They like them already," Julia commented.

"Have they said to you?" Beckett asked.

"Yep," Julia said simply. She then smiled and said, "They liked us, me and Mari."

"Nice to hear," Beckett said.

"Why?" Mari asked when they stopped at the end of the path down to her front door. "Fleur's closer to Eliza and she's older than the two."

"I don't know," Beckett said. She thought for a moment and said, "Maybe because of your dad, he was the second one they saw. Or else they think you're really cool."

Julia laughed, as did Mari, before she said, "What-"

"Julia," Beckett said simply.

With a fake mumble of annoyance, the girl said to her best friend, "You gotta go down to your house."

"I knew," Mari said, using an annoyed tone too before she was giggling with her friend.

"You can take her down to the door sweetie," Beckett told her oldest once the two had calmed down.

"Thanks," Julia said before she took Mari's hand and they walked down the path together. "I can't wait for tomorrow too."

"Me too, the fireworks too," Mari replied. She then asked, "Think Dani will be able to stay this year?"

"Did you ask your parents?" Julia said, surprised she was saying that to her.

"No, I just thought of it," Mari said. "I guess she'll find out tomorrow."

Julia nodded and then said when they were nearer the door, "Thanks so much for coming with me to the station."

"You're welcome, I knew I wasn't gonna get in trouble," Mari said. She laughed when her friend playfully pushed her and said, "I'm glad you didn't get in trouble either, I want you to go on the trip too. I want to see the capitol with you."

Julia nodded rapidly and said, "Me too, it's so nice there. And the museums are awesome." She glanced at the window she was by on one side of the door and said, "Your dad's there."

"Yeah, I gotta go in," Mari said with a sigh. She then hugged her friend as tightly as she could saying, "You're a really interesting person; that's why Ivy and Iris want to be your friend. I did too."

Wanting to say that her best friend was too, Julia was startled when she only had a second to respond to Mari's hug before the girl was letting her go, saying goodnight and disappearing inside her home when her father opened the door. She smiled, feeling her cheeks were a little hot, before she turned and made her way back up to her mother hoping at the same she wouldn't ask what they'd talked about in front of the door.

"You had fun with their second song, didn't you?" Beckett asked her daughter; having been able to hear the girls' conversation and getting the feeling Julia didn't want to discuss it. She took her hand before they started to walk back to their house, watching her daughter at the same time.

"Yep," Julia said. She looked up at her mother and said, "What?" a little startled at the way she was smiling at her.

"You don't remember?" Beckett asked. When she saw her daughter obviously didn't she smiled and said, "A long time ago when you were just four we listened to _Ob-la-di Ob-la-da_ for the first time. You had-"

"I remember now," Julia said with a giggle. "That was a lot of fun."

"It was," Beckett replied with a nod. "I'm glad you picked the song."

"Me too," Julia replied.

Beckett squeezed her daughter's hand firmly before they walked through the door in the wall around the house. She was still thinking about that memory; not surprised Julia had forgotten it as it had been only a few weeks after she had taken the little girl home as her daughter officially. She and Julia had been alone again and it had been a wonderful night, one of those she looked back on fondly in her early days as a new mother.

* * *

 _"So, what would you like to do now sweetie?" Beckett asked as she set down the picture her daughter had colored while she'd cleaned up their dinner. She smiled when Julia didn't reply, instead climbed up on the couch next to her before getting onto her lap. "Sleep?"_

 _"No Mommy," Julia said, pouting her lips at her mother. She giggled when her mother tickled her sides gently and she then said, "Can we listen to music?"_

 _"Of course," Beckett said as she took her phone from the table next to the couch. She opened her music playlist she had for her daughter there and let her have the phone before she waited for her to pick something. She knew it would be a random choice, since the little girl couldn't read, and she waited to hear what it would be._

 _Squealing as the song started, Julia clambered down from her mother's lap and went in front of the coffee table, starting to dance to The Beatles song._

 _Beckett was smiling widely at the way her daughter was so happy as she was moving to the upbeat tempo of the music before Julia was suddenly hurrying over to her. "What-" she began as her daughter was pulling at her arm._

 _"Dance with me Mommy!" Julia said eagerly. "Please?"_

 _For a moment Beckett hesitated before she stood, pushing aside her worry that the little girl's birth mother had done that with her. For some reason, she didn't think she had and she wanted to give Julia that memory herself. So she began to dance with her daughter, not letting herself think about how she was exactly as she knew it would embarrass her. She was able to do that in the end and when the song shortly after finished she picked Julia up, hugging her tightly as they laughed together._

 _"That was fun!" the little girl said happily. She then hugged her back before saying, "Now we can dance again."_

 _"Why don't I let you dance sweetie?" Beckett asked her with a smile before she set her down. "I don't really dance that much."_

 _"Kay," Julia said._

 _Beckett was startled when her daughter walked over to her and she asked, "You don't want to dance anymore?"_

 _Shaking her head Julia then asked, "Can we still listen to music?"_

 _"Of course," Beckett said, not touching her phone as it was still playing on her speaker system in the apartment. She took Julia back onto her lap again and let her cuddle close before she started to caress her hair. She did that for a while before she felt her daughter's arms twine around her neck. About to ask what was wrong she was startled when Julia spoke but hearing her question she started to smile instead as the inquiry was not a surprise._

 _"Desserts?" Julia said._

 _Laughing briefly Beckett kissed her daughter's forehead and said, "Yes we can have dessert. It's a special one, I made it with your grandmama and grandpapa when I was little."_

 _"What is it?" Julia asked eagerly once she heard that._

 _Beckett smiled at the little girl but didn't say anything, instead she went over to the kitchen with her before taking out some popcorn kernels and cinnamon and sugar. She went to the stove by the couch and started to pop the kernels as Julia watched eagerly. "Now," she said when they had a good amount in the bowl she'd used. "We need to get the toppings on it."_

 _"How do you make them stick?" Julia asked, going with her back to the kitchen. She watched with wide eyes as her mother put a little butter into the popcorn and then had her shake the cinnamon and sugar into a little bowl before she mixed it up._

 _"Okay, try it and see what you think," Beckett told her daughter with a smile._

 _Taking a kernel Julia popped it into her mouth and chewed it before she smiled at her mother with a nod. "It's good Mommy."_

 _"Good, should we watch a movie or do you want to still listen to music?" Beckett asked, taking the bowl and going over to the couch with her daughter._

 _"Music," Julia said. She climbed up onto the couch and sat back on her mother's lap, leaning against her before she asked her about what they'd do the next day._

 _Leaning down slightly Beckett pressed a kiss to her forehead before she discussed with Julia what they would want to do together on Saturday as the music continued to play in the apartment._

* * *

 _"Hey Castle," Beckett said with a smile once he'd answered his phone._

 _"Hey, I thought you would text," Castle said._

 _"If you want me to hang up and do that I can," Beckett replied, still smiling._

 _"Oh… why bother, you already have me," Castle commented. "I didn't mean that in a dirty way."_

 _"I didn't take it that way," Beckett said._

 _"Julia's asleep?" Castle asked._

 _"Yeah, she had… a lot of energy," Beckett answered._

 _"Kids always do," Castle said knowingly. "But at least you got her to bed."_

 _"Because she fell asleep," Beckett explained. She smiled and then said, "But at least she did in the end."_

 _"What did you do with her today?" Castle asked._

 _Beckett quickly went over what she and her daughter had done, ending with Julia's bath and her trying to get the little girl to sleep by reading to her. She left out her and Julia dancing together, slightly embarrassed by that and not knowing what his reaction would be._

 _"Sounds like you had fun," Castle replied. "How are you doing?"_

 _"I'm good," Beckett said, knowing he was referencing her motherhood. "I'm getting more and more used to it. And I do love Julia," she finished with a smile._

 _"Is there a chance I could see you next week some time?" Castle blurted out._

 _"Of course, you can come with us tomorrow," Beckett said._

 _"With you where?" Castle asked._

 _"With us to the park by my place," Beckett said. "And for a picnic."_

 _"Why don't you come over for dinner at my place later; stay the night?" Castle replied as he wasn't sure he wanted to break into the planned mother-daughter time._

 _"Where's Alexis?" Beckett asked him._

 _"She'll be here," Castle replied. "Mother's going out though, so it'll be just the four of us."_

 _"Okay," Beckett said with a smile. "I'll bring some games for after," she added, knowing her boyfriend would want them to stay longer after the meal._

 _"Stay the night?" Castle asked._

 _Hearing the hopeful tone in his voice, Beckett wanted to say yes immediately as she felt a sudden yearning to be with him though they hadn't been intimate yet since the events in Queens. "I would love that but let me ask Julia if she would want to okay?" she asked her boyfriend._

 _"Of course," Castle said, hoping the little girl would want to spend the night with Alexis. He was going to speak when he heard his girlfriend yawning and he said with a smile, "Tired?"_

 _"Very, I need to get some sleep," Beckett said with a sigh. "We'll talk longer tomorrow."_

 _"Sure, you're going to need some energy," Castle told her reassuringly. "Let me know when you're on your way over to the park."_

 _"I will," Beckett said._

 _"Night Beckett, I love you," Castle told her gently._

 _"I love you too Castle, night," Beckett replied quickly before they hung up. With her phone on her nightstand she turned and then laid on her back, looking up at the ceiling as she thought of the next day. Deciding very shortly after that thinking about it wasn't really going to do anything she pulled her bedsheet over herself and then closed her eyes to sleep. She couldn't help the slight smile on her face as she found herself eager to see Castle as much as she was at spending more time with her daughter while she fell asleep with the plans for the next day running through her mind._

* * *

"Sweet dreams Josie," Beckett told the baby as she pressed her lips to the top of her head. It was later that night and she and Castle were nearly ready for bed though they'd had to pause because the baby had started to cry. She'd nursed Josie and was just kissing her goodnight as she'd handed the baby to her husband before then.

"She'll be fine now right?" Castle asked her.

"She will," Beckett said. "Put her into bed," she said, nodding to their baby.

Nodding Castle turned his attention to Josie and pressed his lips to her forehead gently since she was already asleep. He murmured that he loved her; as Beckett had before; and then placed her carefully in the crib before he and his wife leaned against the side, watching Josie for a little longer until she touched his arm.

Beckett took her husband's hand once he moved away from the crib and they walked together to Eliza and after Julia, checking on the girls and everyone else in the rooms. When they were inside their room she went straight to the bathroom to brush her teeth which she'd been about to do when Josie had started to cry.

Castle, as he'd been about to do the same himself, followed her and finished first, leaning against the counter as she brushed her hair. When she glanced at him he smiled and then said, "What're you thinking?"

Smiling, as she wasn't surprised he'd been able to figure that out, Beckett told him about the memory she'd been thinking of when she and Julia had walked home.

"Why did you never tell me that?" Castle asked in surprise.

"I was embarrassed, like I just told you," Beckett reminded him. She then went to him and kissed his cheek saying, "We've danced before too remember."

"True…" Castle said before he watched her walk past him to the bedroom. He was quick to follow her before he said, "Crazy day."

"It was," Beckett said with a sigh. "And we have a busy one tomorrow."

"We do," Castle commented as he climbed onto the bed at the same time as her. "What about Josie?"

"She'll be alright," Beckett said as she looked at him. She was surprised when her husband put on his glasses and she asked, "Going to read?"

"No, just…" Castle started to say before he hesitated.

"Rick," Beckett said slightly uncomfortably. "Did you want to make love? I'm kind of tired."

"No, no," Castle said quickly. "I am too, I'd like to just do this."

Beckett wasn't really surprised when her husband leaned over to her and then kissed her, she knew he'd warmed up to the idea of keeping his glasses on for some form of their intimacy. She was pleased, as she found it either enjoyable or arousing depending on what they were doing, so she kissed him back even harder. When they finally calmed down they slowly parted and she said, "When did you pull me onto your lap?" as she realized that was where she was.

"I don't know," Castle said slightly laughingly. He then watched her lean against him, her knees bending so she was literally curled up in his arms. "We did this before," he said suddenly as he felt an intense sense of déjà vu.

"Oh?" Beckett asked with a smile, glancing up at him.

"Yeah and we were almost exactly the same too," Castle said, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

"What was different?" Beckett said.

"You had a nightgown on," Castle told her simply.

With another smile Beckett kept that brief before she was kissing her husband tenderly saying, "Tell me."

Pressing his lips to her forehead Castle then told Beckett what he had seen, knowing instinctively she was recalling it as well.

* * *

 _"Are you tired love?" Rick asked his wife as she walked around their bed to her side._

 _"Extremely, Josephine was a problem if you weren't there with me," Kate said wryly._

 _Reaching for his wife's hand, Rick held it as she climbed on the bed and told her, "Then we'll sleep."_

 _"Right away?" Kate asked him._

 _"You don't want to?" Rick asked._

 _"Don't," Kate said quickly, reaching for her husband's hand that was about to take off his spectacles. She wasn't surprised when he looked at her with a startled expression on his face and she smiled before leaning over. A second later he was pulling her onto his lap and she let out a soft cry of surprise before their arms were around each other and they were kissing passionately._

* * *

"That's about it," Castle replied.

"We didn't make love then," Beckett stated instead of asking.

"No, we were tired and more so by the time we made ourselves stop," Castle said. He then smiled and said, "I aroused you easily."

"You were good looking then," Beckett replied.

"Not handsome?" Castle asked.

Beckett smirked and leaned over to brush her lips against his before telling him, "Oh you were. And now before you ask."

"Don't sound so certain of yourself," Castle told her teasingly as she had exaggerated her voice. He smiled when she laughed and said, "You didn't ask when that was."

"I already knew; November of 1935," Beckett said simply. "We still wanted each other."

"Needed each other," Castle said, nodding his head rapidly.

Beckett laughed and then said, "Fine. But it's nice to know we managed not to paw at each other every night."

"We weren't doing that then?" Castle pointed out to her. When she gave him a look he couldn't help himself, leaning over and kissing her tenderly. After he made himself stop he didn't pull away fully, instead brushing his lips against hers as he said, "We never see ourselves in the fifties."

"Do you want to?" Beckett asked him.

"I would," Castle replied. "But I can't really…"

"I can," Beckett replied, brushing her lips across his. With him rubbing her arm she then started her story saying, "It was 1952 and we were out in the garden… it was spring; April; we were planting."

* * *

 _"I think that's enough," Rick said to his wife as they stopped and looked at the boxes where their vegetable seeds were planted. "Should be a nice harvest this year."_

 _"It should," Kate said. "Hopefully Josephine will eat them."_

 _"Hopefully," Rick said with a nod._

* * *

"Wait, Josie there was twenty-two," Castle said abruptly.

"She had a job in town and lived with us," Beckett said as that came to her suddenly.

"Did she have any boyfriends?" Castle asked.

"I… don't think so," Beckett said slowly. She shook her head and said, "I have no clue who any of our kids end up with there."

Thinking himself Castle said, "Yeah, I don't see it either. But go ahead and keep going."

Beckett smiled but before she continued the memory she leaned over and kissed him, not surprised when he was responding rapidly. She moaned gently at the way he held her, even that pleasuring her, before she felt his tongue slipping into her mouth. She welcomed it and they started to playfully fight together before they slowed down and then eventually parted. "Hmm, we needed to clean up, so we did."

"We made love there?" Castle asked her.

"In the tub," Beckett said with a smile. "And after that we were… sitting on the sun porch when we saw our youngest come home."

* * *

 _"Hey there kiddo," Rick called to the young woman._

 _"Hello Ma, Da," Josephine said with a smile._

 _"You have a spring to your step," Kate said, standing up so they could greet her._

 _"I have some new fabric, I want to make myself a new skirt and blouse," Josephine replied._

 _"For work?" Rick asked_

 _"You know I have to wear something more somber Da," Josephine replied. "Look," she told her parents before showing them the fabric she'd gotten which was a blue and white plaid. "I bought some piping Ma, in black, just for above the hem of the skirt a bit."_

 _"It sounds wonderful," Kate said. "But that's an awfully big bag."_

 _"This was Da's idea," Josephine said with a smile as she pulled out another bit of fabric._

 _"I saw it before and had to get it for you," Rick replied._

 _"Really? Just the fabric? Show me the picture you mug," Kate said teasingly._

 _"Let's go inside," Rick told her._

 _"Right, you probably need something to drink," Kate said suddenly to their daughter, pulling her after them both._

 _"I could use some tea Ma," Josephine admitted. "But it's alright." She wasn't surprised when her mother went straight to the kitchen. While Kate was getting the tea, she went to the door out to the back and looking at the garden saw that the earth in the garden boxes was turned. "You planted?" she asked._

 _"We did, a lot of fun after the rain," Rick said. "Of course, I'm sure it'll rain again soon."_

 _"Of course," Josephine echoed._

 _"Here," Kate said, pouring out a cup of tea for Josephine. "Now show me Rick."_

 _Nodding he went over to a drawer where their new telephone was, pulling out a magazine their daughters had shown him earlier that week at their usual Sunday dinner together._

* * *

"How old were they then?" Beckett asked her husband.

Smiling, as he knew his wife was aware of that, Castle said, "Well, Julia was thirty which was… amazing." He trailed off and then said in an annoyed tone, "Why can't we see who they're with?"

"Because it hasn't happened now yet?" Beckett suggested. "We couldn't see Josie in that until after we knew she was a girl and then didn't know her name until after she was born. Even then we can't see her unless it's the age she is right now."

With a quick nod Castle then said, "So Eliza was twenty-five and Alexis twenty-four."

"They were all grown… up," Beckett said slowly. "Why don't we move on now?"

"Well, is there anything left of that memory?" Castle asked interestedly.

With a smile Beckett said, "The dress was two different colors with a floral pattern in one color, a border design. The fabrics you got for me for that were white and cerulean blue; it was for summer."

"You looked stunning," Castle said quickly. "And Josie too in her outfit; I keep forgetting there weren't just poodle skirts."

"No there weren't," Beckett said with a smile. "So, I've said something, now your turn."

"Does it need to be earlier?" Castle asked.

"That would be nice but why don't we try something better," Beckett started to say. She let out a short cry in surprise when her husband suddenly kissed her, crushing her lips beneath his. She held onto him tightly before he was pulling away from her slowly. "A happier day and the girls were twenty-three, eighteen, seventeen and fifteen."

"1945," Castle said before he paused. "Wasn't I supposed to say it?"

"I can," Beckett told him simply.

"Is it V-J Day?" Castle asked her.

"It is," Beckett replied with a smile. "Since it was in August everyone was home."

"What about Julia? Wasn't she still with WASPs?" Castle asked.

"She was honorably discharged a week before," Beckett said when that came to her. "She was home too."

"I know it already," Castle commented.

"Do you still want me to tell you?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Of course," Castle said.

Beckett wasn't surprised when they came together in a kiss but was a bit when they were ending it shortly after. She smiled again and brushed her lips against his before saying, "We had eaten lunch around the radio as we knew that things were wrapping up with Japan and we were hoping the war would be over completely soon. All of us but Josie were in the kitchen though when it happened," her smile returning as her husband nodded in complete understanding before she continued.

* * *

 _"Ma! Ma!" Josephine cried out, running to the doorway between the kitchen and dining room._

 _"What is it?" Kate asked, tossing the towel she'd used to dry off her hands to the counter._

 _"They said there's a bulletin," Josephine said before running back to the living room._

 _"This might be it," Rick said as he, his wife and their three oldest daughters rushed after the youngest girl. He wrapped his arm around Kate as they watched the radio, waiting for the announcer to speak again._

 _"We have from Army officials that Japanese Emperor Hirohito has announced to the people of Japan that the Potsdam Declaration will be accepted soon. The war in the Pacific is over, repeat, the war is over," the man announced._

 _The family cried out together before Rick grabbed his wife and embraced her tightly as he kissed her deeply while their daughters were hugging each other in their joy. As soon as Rick and Kate had pulled away from one another they turned their attention to their daughters, embracing them warmly._

 _"Does this mean we won't have to ration anymore?" Josephine asked once they'd calmed down._

 _Laughing with the others Kate said, "We still need to I think. But give it time and we'll have rubber for our cars and petroleum too."_

 _"And food!" Josephine exclaimed._

 _"What's that?" Julia asked them as a noise suddenly reached them._

 _"I think everyone's going out to the street," Rick said as he went over to the window, looking outside._

 _"Let's go too," Alexandra said eagerly._

 _Heading out after their daughters, Kate held her husband's hand as they walked down to the street and watched Alexandra and Josephine run down to see their friends. "Look," she said in surprise, seeing a familiar car approaching._

 _"It's Brad with Lily and their kids," Rick said._

 _"They have Mari!" Julia exclaimed._

 _When the Dunhams got out of the car, with Julia's WASPs friend Mari, the group joined in the celebration on their street that turned into an impromptu barbeque. There were many toasts made to the sailors, soldiers and pilots that had fought through the entire war and a deep sense of relief was felt by everyone since they knew peace had returned again._

* * *

"Nice," Castle said when his wife stopped. He then thought of something and said, "What about the riots in the city that happened after that?"

"We heard about it on the radio and stayed well away from the city," Beckett replied as she thought for a moment. "But you only heard about the details from Brad when he and Lily went back to the city."

"That makes sense, there wasn't much attention given to what was done," Castle said. He sighed and shook his head saying, "But that's a horrible end to that memory." He took off his glasses and leaned over to set them onto his nightstand before he said, "Should we sleep?"

"You're done?" Beckett asked him in amusement.

"No but I'm thinking of tomorrow," Castle replied.

"True," Beckett said. She reluctantly got off her husband's lap and told him, "We made love that night."

"Of course we did," Castle said. "Had to celebrate on our own too."

Beckett smiled as she waited for him to lay down before she moved to lay on her side, pressing against him before she said, "I can see it."

"See what?" Castle replied, looking down at her.

"You have another question," Beckett said.

"No, not a question," Castle told her quickly. "I just wanted to tell you I heard what Espo asked you while the kids were playing."

"Yeah, I was kind of waiting for that," Beckett said. She then smiled and told him, "I was serious, I do prefer to be here now. Not just because it's easier to keep the girls safe but because it's…"

Castle gently ran his fingers through her hair, watching her trying to figure out what word she wanted to use. "More peaceful?" he suggested.

Beckett glanced at him and then said, "No, not that. I guess it makes me feel closer to what I felt like when I was a kid. Which is weird, I know, since we grew up in apartments. Also, I'm sure we would have had that at the loft, so I don't know why I said that."

"Did your parents ever think of getting a house when you were a kid?" Castle asked.

"We nearly moved into a brownstone, but the rent went up just before my parents put a down payment on it so…" Beckett said with a shrug. "Really though you know it doesn't matter where we are."

"I agree," Castle said. "I just hope he'll understand why we're likely not going to go back permanently."

"He does," Beckett said quickly. "But I get the feeling he's still hoping."

Castle merely nodded and gently pulled his wife to him so he could press his lips to her forehead before he said, "Are we ready for the new guests?"

"We are," Beckett said, smiling as she recalled the message Skye had given her. The rest of the O'Dells band were going to be arriving the next day and Paul had let them know as well that Ringo and Barbara were going to join them for sure. "They're going to freak out."

"Freak out?" Castle said with a slight laugh.

Beckett moved to lay on her stomach and she propped her head on her palm before saying, "You know what I mean."

"I do… think we can get some drums out there?" Castle asked.

"Of course, you heard Brad when we told him," Beckett said in amusement. They knew the chief played the drums but only causally; her husband had known since they had met as kids; and as he had a set they had asked if he would lend it to Ringo. She smiled as she thought of Brad's reaction and said, "We might get the attention of the others."

"Noise complaint?" Castle replied, trying to fight his smile as he'd been watching her.

"Noise- no, not that," Beckett said with a slight frown, pinching the end of his shoulder lightly. "Not when we have the chief of police there."

"Abuse of power again love," Castle told her before he smiled as she rolled her eyes. He gently rubbed her back and told her, "Should we spend time with the girls once everyone's gone?"

"Skye might be here still," Beckett reminded him. "Though she was talking about getting a hotel for them to stay in."

"They don't need to," Castle said quickly. "Tell them."

"You can too," Beckett said with a smile. She then leaned down and kissed him tenderly before she started to move away. When he held onto her she wasn't surprised and took his kiss to her, very shortly after fighting with her husband's tongue as it slipped into her mouth. She didn't know how long they spent kissing one another but as before it delved into many and lasted for a time. She stopped them and said apologetically, "I'm getting uncomfortable," in explanation.

With a nod Castle helped his wife lay down and then told her, "I love you Kate."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett replied, smiling as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "Promise me something?"

"Of course," Castle said, looking down at her.

"That we'll try not to run to bed after our girls are in bed," Beckett said. She couldn't help smiling when her husband's eyes widened, and she said, "I'm serious, I get the feeling we'd end up doing that."

Trying to open his mouth, Castle stopped himself before he did that fully and looked thoughtful as he said, "What gave me away?"

"The way you were holding me," Beckett with a smile.

"You know you were squeezing my arms, right?" Castle asked.

"At some point we need to rest," Beckett said with a slight laugh as she had felt some stirrings of arousal while they'd been kissing. "And that will be now."

"Alright," Castle said before he moved so he could brush his lips to hers. "Night love," he said.

"Night Rick," Beckett said, brushing her lips against his jaw. Once she was settled back down against his side she closed her eyes and smiled as he began to stroke her hair. Before that moment she had been thinking of their celebration the next day; since they'd been talking about it. But with his touch her last thoughts before she fell asleep completely were of her husband and what they could do with nothing but their summer coming up for them and their family, looking forward to that as considerably as she knew Castle was too.


	22. It's The Fourth Of July

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _American Girl_ by Tom Petty; from the self-titled Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album, _Eight Days A Week_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney; from The Beatles album _Beatles for Sale_ , _After All These Years_ by Ringo Starr and Johnny Warman; from Ringo's album _Time Takes Time_ , _Dark Horse_ by George Harrison; from his album of the same name, and _Soily_ by Paul McCartney, from the released Wings album _Band on the Run_.

A/N #2: Very pleased that I got some feedback for the last chapter, so of course I'll go right into my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I was happy to see your reaction to Lanie and Dylan's news, though I wasn't too surprised that you were excited. Also, I wasn't either to see that with the boys and Lanie there you thought the last few chapters were filled with nostalgia; it's why I chose the title for this story that I did. So you're welcome for that! It made me laugh when you said you could picture Esposito's face when Beckett said we, lol, so glad that made you laugh too. I was really pleased to see that you though the whole chapter was the best and that it oozes love. And I was glad of course that through the whole chapter you were smiling and smirking! Really happy you thought it was great writing as usual and a job well done. And of course, I'm really happy that you enjoyed all the flashbacks that were in the chapter too!),

MononenMinna (You're very welcome for the new chapters. I'm really glad that you like that Skye and Mary will adopt Ivy and Iris. And I'm pleased that you think they sound like good kids and need friends and parents to love them. I was of course happy to read you think the idea of Lanie being pregnant is lovely. And I agree, she and Dylan deserve to be happy, so I had to write them having a baby of their own. It's nice to see that you think it's always nice to find that there are new chapters of the story. And of course, I'm glad that you love this!),

TORONTOSUN (Very nice to see you thought the last chapter had great writing in it!),

Nicole (Ah, I think I confused you, sorry about that, I wasn't intending to say that all the kids would be gay. In this story I've just said that Marie; Skye and Mary's daughter; is since of course all them being gay would be really hard to believe, lol. But I'm glad that you think I have a good series!),

Mb (Great to see you thought the first half was a sweet update. And I'm really pleased that you loved the interaction between all of them and thought the fact that they're all comfortable together is sweet. I was happy to see your reaction to Lanie being pregnant. And nice to see that you were happy she's found love and is having a baby made from that love which is a gift of course. I'm not surprised that you feel a little sad for Esposito though to be honest it's hard for me to see him settling down as the others have. Great that I made you laugh at Castle and Beckett kissing in Josie's room after not being able to do much with each other, lol, I figured that would press them to do that even while the baby was nursing, lol. I was glad you loved the idea of them sorting the new twins into their Harry Potter house, thought it would be nice for them to bond with their sisters. Happy to see you thought it was sweet. And you're welcome for the first half. It was nice that you could picture them singing the chorus of the second song together, and that it brought up memories for you as well. Not surprised you're getting jealous the characters are getting to sing with Paul and possibly Ringo too. I was really happy that you thought it was sweet that Castle and Beckett needed to stop themselves from making love even when they were so tired. But you're right, sometimes they need to cuddle and kiss, this was one of those times. And I agree, when energy comes back it'll be sweeter and more intense. I was relieved that you thought Beckett telling Esposito about why they're staying in the Hamptons and will continue to stay was perfectly and articulated; I needed it to be, lol. Pleased to see you loved the flashbacks from when Julia first started living with Beckett. I wasn't surprised at all that you're wondering if she will remember her life before Queens and if it'll be a traumatic event or just a simple memory that will do that. And yeah, Castle and Beckett still fear that a bit. I'm also not surprised that you mentioned too Castle and Beckett are wondering what Julia will think of them at that point and her herself for forgetting, as you said, her birth mother. Happy to see you thought it was a fantastic update. And you're welcome for the second half too!),

Guest (Oh good, I'm glad my guess was right, lol, about the reviews. Really happy that you're a fan of my stories especially, as you said, the diversity in the characters in the stories. And I'm glad that I am having them grown and change! Especially Julia, not surprised that you find she's grown in the last few stories with her calling Castle and Beckett Mom and Dad, having the talk with Beckett and her starting to push the envelope. Lol, that last one I actually kinda did unintentionally but that's where her character is taking me so that's how I write it) and

vetgirlmx (I recalled that when you said it, lol, it was a very long day, but at least they were able to relax the second half, lol. Really great you loved the flashbacks in this one and them being from different times; I wasn't sure how readers would like that so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Great to see your reaction to Lanie being pregnant, I'm not surprised you're very excited for her too. And I'm not surprised either that you think the baby will be a new friend for the girls, lol, most likely Josie. And with your comments about Esposito I'm not surprised you're thinking that too, but as I said in a reply above it's hard for me to really see him settling down, sorry. Great you thought it was nice to see the girls adapting already, I figured with so many people there and kids they would, but not surprised you think Skye and Mary will be able to adopt the girls. And yeah, it took me a bit to realize the twins' situation was similar to Julia's but once I had them all together I saw that. But you're right, it is a good thing since a lot of other people will know how to help them. I had to laugh at you said it was an excuse for the McDouglases to stay longer, lol, but of course I'm pleased you think it's not half bad and that you'll enjoy it. Great you're so eager for the next day with the rest of the band and Ringo arriving. Not surprised you think the party is going to be insane. It made me laugh a bit to see you were freaking out already, lol, and great you can't wait to see it happen and now you don't need to wait anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them all and I appreciate it the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _4_ _th_ _of July_ by Paul McCartney, a demo on the rerelease of the Wings _Venus and Mars_ album.

It's The Fourth Of July

Breaking the water Julia tried her best to wipe it off on her face before she looked to the side and saw that Paul was there with her. "Hi," she said.

"Hullo, your parents were a bit busy with your sister so I wanted to make sure you were alright," Paul told her.

"Am I picking the songs tonight?" Julia asked him.

"If you'd like," Paul replied.

Thinking about that as they were treading the water and then letting the waves pass them Julia said, "I think it's better to see what you can play; 'cause I think the band can play anything."

"Most likely," Paul told her with a smile. "Swim on back?"

"Yeah," Julia said laughingly as the singer had taken on a southern accent with that. They swam until they could both walk on the sand and she told him, "It should be really cool."

"I think so, but I'm not planning on performing every time," Paul said.

"No?" Julia asked.

"You know the band might be on the show this fall?" Paul explained.

"Skye told me," Julia replied with a nod.

"Well they want to be good and practiced," Paul told her.

"He's right," Skye said, smiling with her wife as Julia was giggling. "We've never performed like that before; don't want to make complete fools of ourselves."

Nodding Julia said, "Like I don't dancing."

"I wouldn't worry," Castle said, walking over to them. When they were all looking at him he explained, "Kate wants to take care of Josie on her own. Anyways Julia, you'll be fine."

"I'm the one who's more worried," Skye said. She looked back at the sand when Martha called her name and said, "Ah, the band is here," as Castle's mother was holding up the phone she'd left on the blanket she and her family were using.

"Hi Ivy, Iris," Julia said with a smile to the twins who were walking over to them.

"Hi," the former said with a smile. "Where did Skye go?"

"She's seeing if the rest of our band is here," Mary replied, holding Iris' hand. "And speaking of that I should go check too."

"Excuse me," Paul said before Julia or Castle could say anything.

"How are the twins doing?" the girl asked her father when they were alone.

"They're fine, they both had a nightmare last night, but Skye said that was it," Castle replied.

"It's not weird they can laugh and smile now is it?" Julia asked.

Shaking his head Castle said, "They were both crying last night."

Nodding Julia then said, "They were getting tears in their eyes a lot last night."

"They'll be okay, that's normal of course," Castle reassured her. "Want to swim?" he asked her.

"Rick," Beckett called down to her husband.

"Oh, I think we'll need to wait on that," Castle said to the girl.

Julia smiled before she went to him to take his hand and they walked back up to where Beckett was waiting for them. "Is Josa okay?" she asked her mother.

"She's fine," Beckett replied. "She finally fell asleep. But everyone's starting to arrive so you guys need to be polite and-"

"Julia!" a voice interrupted Beckett before the three turned to see that Mari was running down the beach.

Watching the two girls run to each other Beckett smiled and told her husband, "I was waiting for that."

"Me too," Castle said, taking his wife's hand. "Is _everyone_ here?"

"Yes," Beckett said teasingly for his emphasizing everyone. "But we'll see if they notice them."

"I'm sure they will," Castle said as they went all the way to their blankets and towels. Their friends from the city had already arrived, they'd just been waiting for the Fosters, Davises, band, Ringo and his wife to arrive. He glanced up at the house, wondering if they should go up when his mother called his name.

"What's going on Richard?" Martha asked, studying her son.

"Nothing Martha," Beckett told her mother in law as she was taking her husband's hand and pulling him up to the house. "We'll be right back, watch the girls!"

"I guess it's the polite thing to do," Castle commented.

"It is," Beckett said with a soft laugh. "And, we can see Ringo again."

"Exactly," Castle said, making her pause for a moment to kiss her cheek. When she wrinkled her nose at him with a smile he squeezed her hand before they went inside the house to go to the entry. As they neared it he saw their new guests, his mind blown at who Paul was standing with and talking to before the three looked to him and Beckett with smiles on their faces before one of them broke off to greet them.

"Hello again," Ringo said, walking over to them. He shook Beckett's hand first and then Castle's before he said, "Are we all on first names here?"

"We are," Beckett said with a smile. "It's great to see you again, both of you," she added, turning to Barbara and shaking her hand.

"Do your children know we're here?" the woman asked.

"We're surprising them," Castle said as he shook her hand next.

"So, they're out on the beach?" Ringo asked.

"They are, everyone basically is," Castle replied.

"If you need to change-" Beckett began.

"We're ready," Barbara replied.

"Okay, then we should go," Beckett said with a smile. Before they could move though she recalled the rest of Skye's band and at the same time the chime for the door in the wall around the house rang. She unlocked it quickly saying, "That's the other family, the Davises."

"The police chief?" Ringo asked.

"Yeah, he's an old childhood friend of mine and he lent you the drums," Castle explain.

"Does he play?" Ringo said.

"He does but it's a hobby," Castle said as he was opening the front door. He and Beckett stepped out onto the porch, watching as the family walked up to them from the driveway, the kids running ahead first. Before anyone could say anything he heard, along with the others, a loud yelping type of scream before they turned to look back inside the house.

"Sorry," Julia said once everyone was inside the house and looking at her if they weren't already. "I… Ringo?" she asked slowly.

"That's me," the singer replied with a smile. "So, I take it you've heard of me?"

Nodding Julia stepped forward with her sister and Mari saying, "You're our guest?"

"He is," Beckett said with a smile. "We wanted to surprise you."

When Julia just looked at them with wide eyes Castle said, "Don't forget Barbara."

"We didn't introduce them," Beckett told her husband. "Everyone this is Julia our oldest, Eliza's our next daughter and this is Mari Foster. Her parents and sister are here and she's friends with Julia."

"Best friends," Julia said, having gotten a little over her shock that two members of her favorite band were in the entry of her home.

"Wonderful to meet you," Ringo said. "Is this all the kids?"

"We better head outside now," Beckett said with a smile before she went over with the others to the door leading out. She and Castle then greeted the band together as they'd ended up forgetting them before they stepped outside. "Okay this will take some time," she said to her husband.

"Just make an announcement," Castle said with a shrug.

"You don't want to?" Beckett asked him, smiling. When he just smiled at her she laughed softly and then said, "Alright," before she walked ahead of them as everyone on the beach were walking towards them.

"Is this everyone else?" Esposito asked.

"They are, and I need to make some introductions," Beckett said. "This group here is the rest of Skye and Mary's band," she began. "Barry and Raj Fox. Then there's Jackie and Gabriel Masterson. Barry's the drummer, Raj the keyboardist and Jackie is the third guitarist. And last is Ringo Starr and his wife Barbara."

"You may have heard of us," the singer said in amusement.

"It'll take me a very long time to introduce everyone so let me just do that with our family," she said. "This is Alexis; Rick's oldest and my stepdaughter. My father Jim Beckett, Rick's mother Martha Rodgers." She paused there as she went over to her father since he was carrying the baby, taking her before she continued saying, "And this is Josie, our youngest. I'm sure everyone will introduce themselves to you now, so welcome to our home," finishing with a smile.

"Katie," Jim said, going over to his daughter. "Is that really Ringo Starr?"

"It is," Beckett said with a smile.

"Ringo of The Beatles," Jim continued.

Beckett laughed softly and nodded saying, "That is Dad, Paul asked if we could invite him and we did."

Jim was looking at the singer and then shaking his head in incredulity before he said, "Amazing."

"I know," Beckett said before she watched as their newest guests were greeting the others that had already been there. "So, the party's begun," she said to her husband with a smile.

"What do we do now?" Eliza asked as she and Julia had stayed with them.

"Play and swim with your friends," Beckett said, reaching for her with her free hand.

"Is Josa gonna go in the water too?" Eliza said with a smile.

"She will," Beckett said. She was surprised when the new guests were finishing soon after that and she was smiling when Barbara came over to them.

"I'm sorry, I've seen Sophie and now I would love to see Josie," the woman replied.

"Of course," Beckett said, handing her the baby.

"She's adorable too," Barbara said after studying Josie. "Three months?"

"Almost," Castle said. "On the seventeenth."

"Like I said she's adorable," Barbara said with a smile. She then said with a laugh, "I don't think she wants to let me go," as Josie had latched onto her blouse sleeve.

"She likes you," Julia said.

"She does?" Barbara asked in slight surprise.

"Yeah, when she does that she wants you to hold onto her still," Julia answered.

"Then I will," Barbara replied.

"You're not gonna go swimming?" Eliza asked her.

"Oh, I will but let me hold your sister for just a little bit longer," Barbara replied.

Going down the rest of the way to the sand with everyone else, Beckett watched the little girl, studying her as she could tell that something was on her mind. She made up her mind; after she took off her sarong; to ask her when Eliza suddenly scurried over to where Barbara was. Since the singer's wife was standing near their blankets and close to her husband she was able to watch her tugging the woman's sleeve to get her attention which happened quickly.

"Are you from the movie?" Eliza asked once Barbara was looking at her.

"Paul's movie," Beckett said quickly as she remembered the woman had been in more than one.

"They've seen it?" Barbara asked. When Castle and Beckett nodded she looked down at Eliza and said, "That is me."

"You got married to Ringo," the little girl stated.

With a smile Barbara then said, "I did."

"Good," Eliza said.

"We told her that you'd been married," Castle tried to explain. "When she watched the movie a year ago."

"Had she seen it before?" Barbara asked as she handed Josie back to him.

"She remembers it now," Beckett said as she nodded.

"She's a sweet girl," Barbara said before she went over to her husband.

"What are you going to do now love?" Castle asked his wife when they were alone with Josie.

Studying the baby for a moment Beckett said, "I think go with the rest of the kids. Ask your mother if she'll watch her." She watched her husband walk over to where Martha was talking with Raj and Barry; recalling the two men had heard of her before; and then shook herself to take off her sarong so she could head down to the water where most of the kids were by then.

"Hey," Darnley said with a smile at his friend as she walked to where he was standing, holding Keo at the breaking waves. "Going swimming?" he asked.

"Yeah, is he?" Beckett asked, smiling at the baby.

"He'll stay with me but we're going into the water," Darnley replied as his son was trying to bounce in his arms. "So… you have a Beatle and a Bond girl here."

"Ringo and Barbara," Beckett corrected him wryly though she was smiling. "Though I know, it's amazing that Paul's here too."

"Are we going to have a concert?" Darnley asked.

"We are," Castle said, walking to them. "And Ringo just told me that Paul told him that they're going to have Julia pick the songs… except for the first one."

" _Star Spangled Banner_?" Darnley guessed.

Laughing Castle shook his head and said, "Not that one, but someone should tell her."

"Come with me," Beckett said with a smile at her husband. She took his hand and tugged him into the water, not realizing that Esposito and Ryan were walking up to her friend behind them.

"Remember we talked about who was whipped once?" the former asked his partner.

"I don't think you can apply that to them," Darnley commented with a smile. "Since he could have pulled her after him and she would go."

Esposito; at Ryan's look; shrugged his shoulders and then ran into the water before he dove underneath the waves and resurfaced close to Beckett, Castle and Julia.

"Anything wrong?" Beckett asked.

"No, just stopping by to let you know I'm going out," Esposito replied. "If I'm sucked out please come after me."

"I'm not giving you mouth to mouth," Castle commented. He laughed when the detective splashed him and watched with the others as he swam away from them. "Okay, are we ready to go back?" he asked his wife and their daughter.

"Sure," Julia said before she went back first. When she could walk she went over to all her friends who were watching Jake skim boarding. "Are you all taking turns?" she asked.

"I can't," Mari said.

"Neither can I," Julia replied since her mother had told her that; knowing the boy would bring his board to do that. "Wanna go in the water?"

"Sure," Mari said. She paused and then said, "Should we ask the other kids?"

Nodding Julia with her to the two sets of twins asking them, "Wanna come out swimming with us?"

"Sure," Marie said first.

"What about your sister?" Mari asked them.

Glancing over at Fleur, who was with Skye and Mary in the shallower water, Kathleen said with a smile, "She's fine with them."

While they walked out into the water Ivy asked, "Do you always go out on the beach?"

"Sometimes yeah but not to swim," Mari said first.

"She's right, we'll walk here a lot, even in the winter," Julia replied. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," Iris said with a sigh. "Still miss our dad. But Skye and Mary are nice."

"Really nice," Ivy said in agreement. "Mary stayed on the bed on the floor with Iris and Skye stayed on the bed with me."

"That is nice," Mari said, not sure why they would do that but guessing that they'd had a nightmare. "You know your… Skye and Mary are gonna play tonight."

"We knew," Marie said, not surprised when her twin looked at her. "And we know you're going to pick their songs."

"Almost all of them," Julia said since the little girl had been looking at her. She smiled and then said, "I know a lot of what I want to ask them to play already."

"Can you tell us?" Ivy asked eagerly.

"Yep," Julia said. "Let's huddle."

With some laughter, the girls gathered together to listen to Julia say that before they stopped and turned their attention to the other kids. They kept the songs secret while they continued to swim and play as the morning made its way to lunch.

* * *

"Are you sure the instruments can be out here?" Castle asked Mary.

"It's almost evening," the woman said before looking around. "The day went fast."

"It did," Castle said with a slight laugh. "But it was nice to get to just swim and not worry about the case."

"Oh, I can agree with that," Brad said as he walked over to them.

"Can I ask about dinner?" Skye asked, coming out with the rest of the band as well as Paul and Ringo.

"What about it?" Brad asked as his wife at that moment was getting the food all set out with some of the workers from her restaurant in the kitchen.

"I feel bad she's working up there," Skye replied, gesturing towards the house.

"She's not working," Brad assured them as he moved Sophie in his arms to her carrier that he'd brought with him. "And the food'll stay warm for another half hour."

"You did pay them, right?" Skye asked Castle.

"We did," he replied. "Though they offered to bring it for free."

"You're hosting the party!" Brad said.

"Still," Castle replied. When his friend rolled his eyes, he smiled and turned to Skye saying, "What about the guitars?"

"We're just bringing them out," the investigator replied. "The amps and drums are staying inside for just a bit longer." Skye then smirked and said, "Don't worry, you'll find out the songs your daughter picked soon enough."

Castle rolled his eyes before he heard a yell from Tommy and turned to look with the others as the little boy was being chased by Eve. "Luckily they get along," he said.

"I know," Brad replied. He then smiled and said, "You know they're all counting down to the vacation."

"What, even Sophie?" Castle said.

"Go ahead," Brad said to his friend's gesture towards the baby. "And no, not her," he commented as he watched him pick up Sophie. "But Eve, Jake and even Lils are counting down."

"You've only gone on a couple weekend trips since Ireland last summer, didn't you?" Castle asked, gently rocking Sophie who was shifting a little in his cradling hold and waving her right hand curled into a fist.

"Yeah, so I can't blame them," Brad said.

Since his friend's voice was becoming absent Castle looked behind him to the house and saw that their wives were walking down the grass. He handed over Sophie to him quickly before he said, "Better get her to her mother."

"Me or her?" Brad asked, making a face at him.

Castle shook his head before he was left alone, watching Brad go to his wife while Beckett made her way to him. "She's alright?" he asked as she had Josie in her arms.

"She is," Beckett said as she'd taken their youngest inside to nurse her. She gave him the baby and told him, "Did you head into the water."

Shaking his head Castle said, "I was watching them and the instruments coming in."

Nodding Beckett said, "Don't go around opening those."

"But I wanted to," Castle said jokingly. He then looked down at Josie and said, "Are you taking her to her carrier?"  
"I am," Beckett said, studying the baby as well. "Take her over there," she said quickly before she looked over at the kids in the water. She saw they were picking up some of the badminton rackets they had, and she told him, "Watch her until someone will watch Josie."

"I'm good, go ahead and play," Castle said reassuringly before he nodded to the water.

Beckett wanted to say he should play too but she knew he was thinking of the fact that there were so many kids. She stopped herself by squeezing his arm and went down to the children in front of them who were starting to play. She could sense Castle behind her, knowing he was still holding Josie in his arms before she turned her attention to Julia as she had reached her first. About to ask if she could play as well, her oldest turned to her after she had caught the birdie that Erin was hitting to her before she spoke.

"Are… what?" Julia asked, looking at the others when she saw the way they were looking at her.

"How'd you do that?" Ivy asked in amazement.

"Just caught it," Julia said before shrugging. She then smiled at her friends and looked at her mother asking, "Are you gonna play with us?"

"You guys should-" Beckett began.

"We were playing earlier," Eve commented.

"That doesn't mean you need to stop," Beckett said as the girl was giving her the racquet she was holding.

"Play with me Mom," Julia told her.

"And me," Eliza said.

"Alright," Beckett replied as she was looking around at all the kids and the adults who were either with the kids or on the blankets and towels. "But we have more than two racquets so other people can play with us."

"I will," Ringo said, walking over. "But play first."

Julia wanted to tell the singer he could play with her but she did want to play with her mother on her own so she asked her, "Ready?"

"Go ahead and serve," Beckett said with a smile, waiting for her daughter to hit it before they began to go back and forth for several turns until she missed at her husband's call to her.

"Sorry, Josie wanted you to know she was rooting for you," Castle said with a slight smile at his wife's look.

"That's very nice but you should teach her now not to do that when I'm about to hit the birdie," Beckett told him. She then paused and looked at Ringo and asked, "Would you like to play with us now?"

"Alright," the singer said. He took a racquet from Jacob and then said, "Who will I play with?"

"With Julia," Beckett said with a smile, knowing her daughter would want to already.

"Do you mind?" Julia asked the singer as he walked over to her.

"Not at all," Ringo replied. "I saw you play just now and you're quite good."

"Thanks," Julia said before they were turning to watch Paul walk over to them. She smiled as he joined her mother; she'd played badminton with him two days before; and then said, "Go ahead and serve Mom."

While the four began to play Castle muttered to Alexis, "Take some pictures with your camera."

Though she was going to offer to take the baby from him, the young woman nodded and got her phone from the blanket she and Louis were sharing. She took a few pictures of the game until Beckett stopped them. "I'll send them to you," she told her father.

"Thanks," Castle said before he turned his attention to his wife who was walking up to him.

"Did you take pictures?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"I did," Alexis said, handing her stepmother her phone so she could see.

"Nice, send them to us," Beckett told her as she handed the phone back. "I'll sit with Lanie," she told her husband as Dylan was playing with Eve, Erin and Eliza. "I just realized," she said to her friend as she handed her Josie before she sat with her. "He's playing with the girls with e names."

"I noticed," Lanie said in amusement. When her friend didn't say anything else she then asked, "Are you going to ask if we have names?"

"I know you haven't yet; you haven't been aware you're pregnant for that long," Beckett answered. "But you know you have told me the names you liked."

"I know," Lanie replied with a smile. She looked down at Josie and said, "Practice?"

"No, I needed to sit," Beckett said with a smile. "But you're welcome to hold her."

"Or maybe not," Lanie said, laughing a little when Josie began to cry. She handed her quickly back to Beckett and said, "Diaper?"

"Oh no, she's just crying," she replied as she rocked Josie gently as she held her against her shoulder. "And you'll be more in tune with your baby; don't worry."

"I wanted to test that out," Lanie commented before watching Beckett pressing her lips to the baby's temple. "I'm also impatient."

"I would tell you don't be but it's impossible not to," Beckett said. "I was both times so the best thing to do is just ignore the due date."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lanie said before they turned to her fiancée who was walking over to them and Beckett excused herself.

"Hey," Castle said when his wife walked up to him. He leaned over and gently pressed his lips to the side of Josie's head before he then said, "Do you want to know what time it is?"

"How long have we been playing?" Beckett asked in surprise as she knew that he'd said that for that reason.

"A while," Castle said as he reached out to her.

"Rick," Beckett said, suddenly forgetting the concern about time as her husband had cupped the back of her head. "We should go inside," she told him.

Castle took a moment to stop himself before he then nodded and said, "Alright, but I should warn you that I couldn't stop myself."

"I got that and it's a little late to warn me," Beckett said in amusement.

"I meant I might not be able to," Castle corrected himself. He forced himself to turn his attention back to what they'd been talking about in the first place and he told her, "We should start getting the food ready."

Nodding Beckett said, "Let me give Josie to your mom and I'll help you."

"David and Brennan will too," Castle told her. When his wife frowned slightly at him he said, "They offered while we were getting the food put away."

"Oh," Beckett said. "Alright, I'll meet you up at the house."

"You're so lucky everyone's watching badminton right now," Brad said.

"And you weren't watching your wife either?" Castle pointed out to him. "Or you," he then said to David as he'd walked up to them.

"I didn't say anything," he said though he was smiling while he spoke.

"You wanted to," Castle said.

"Not really, I was watching Rebecca myself," David said nonchalantly.

All of them laughing Castle was able to calm himself first before he said, "We need to go inside or else Kate's going to be getting the food herself."

"No she won't," Brad said quickly as he spotted his wife walking up to them with Beckett. When they were inside the house he told the others, "Mr. Aronson is going to testify against his wife."

"What?" Castle and Beckett said together in shock.

With a slight incline of his head Brad said, "He knows I wasn't telling the truth about her confessing, but he said it was her idea. When I spoke to him again yesterday he let me know that she basically brainwashed him to kill Ralston and Langston."

"Think he'll use that in his plea?" Castle asked.

Shaking his head Brad said, "To get him to actually testify I had to offer him a deal."

"He'll see prison time won't he?" David asked in concern.

"Of course, it'll be life without parole," Brad said. "As long as he's found guilty. But I had to take a felony charge away."

"Better hope he's found guilty," David said calmly.

"You have a lot of trust in me," the chief replied before he smiled briefly. "We're helping the DA build up the evidence so they'll both go away."

"Which is good news," Lily said then, bringing everyone's attention back to the food. "Sorry but we need to keep going. The performance."

"Just let us know if you need our help at all for the trial," Beckett commented before they turned to help her friend out in getting everything onto the counters for everyone.

"Okay, so everything for the McCartneys is here," Lily said.

"And us too, believe me my daughters are getting some of those vegetables," Beckett commented. "But I think everything looks great."

"I would hope so, Diane is my best sous chef," Lily said as they walked with their husbands and David to the door to the back.

"She's your only sous chef," Brad said. "Ow," he said simply when his wife punched him on the shoulder; though she hadn't put much force into it.

"Still," Lily replied.

"She's the one who took over when you were pregnant right?" David asked her.

"She did, she's an excellent cook," Lily replied. "I'll be sad if she decides to get her own restaurant. She's not but I'll just be sad," she added with a slight laugh.

"In the meantime," Beckett said with a smile. "We need to continue. The performance." She was still smiling as her husband and the other two men laughed when Lily narrowed her eyes playfully at her as they stepped outside to get their families and guests so the party could continue.

* * *

"Hey, I could be a drummer," Jacob said with a smile as his big sister walked over to him with all the other kids except for the babies.

"Dad's going to be mad at you," Eve said with a smirk.

"Nope," Jacob said before he handed the drumsticks to Eliza when she'd gone over to him. "Better you don't play, my dad doesn't like us doing that."

"Kay," the little girl said, pretending to play drums in the air.

"Hey, look at this," Ringo said as he was walking over to them with Paul and Skye. "Didn't know you were a drummer."

"I'm not," Eliza said, shaking her head. She then smiled and said, "You are," handing him the drumsticks.

"Thank you," Ringo said. "Should I?" he asked Paul.

"Oh, I think so," the singer replied, taking on a high society accent.

With a nod, Ringo turned to the drums and then began to play randomly, not surprised when the children that had gathered around him watched in amazement. He didn't stop for a few minutes and he smiled when the others applauded, seeing everyone was there by then. "Thank you, but I think we should play," directing the last to Paul and the band.

"We should," the former replied before he went over to the instruments.

"Are you alright not playing?" Castle asked Barry. He was startled when Ringo walked over to them and handed the drumsticks to the man. "I guess I was wrong."

"I'm playing later," Ringo said with a slight smile. "Enjoy."

"She's a good set?" Barry asked him. He laughed slightly when the singer nodded once and then hurried over to the drums since the rest of the band was already with their instruments.

"Paul's not going to play?" Julia asked her parents.

"I think he's going to wait until after this first song," Skye said, going over to them. She murmured to the girl for a moment before Julia nodded and she said, "Be ready," before going to where her mic was set up on the grass with everyone on the blankets, closer to the grass while still on the sand. "Alright, we're having a quick song this time," Skye told them with a smile. "In honor of today but with a little bit of a rock and roll bent." She smiled at Beckett when she let out a short ow of approval and said, "Wait 'till we perform it." With the others laughing she then turned to the band and said, "Okay," and they began.

Julia looked at her parents as she quickly recognized the song as one her father liked and when he smiled at her and her sister she turned back to see that Skye and Mary were playing rhythm guitars, an Epiphone and Fender, together at the same time before the former began to sing.

 _Well she was an American girl  
Raised on promises  
She couldn't help thinkin' that there  
Was a little more to life  
Somewhere else  
After all it was a great big world  
With lots of places to run to  
Yeah, and if she had to die  
Tryin' she had one little promise  
She was gonna keep_

 _Oh yeah, all right  
Take it easy baby  
Make it last all night  
She was an American girl_

 _Well it was kind of cold that night  
She stood alone on her balcony  
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by  
Out on the 441  
Like waves crashin' in the beach  
And for one desperate moment there  
He crept back in her memory  
God it's so painful  
Something that's so close  
And still so far out of reach_

 _Oh yeah, all right  
Take it easy baby  
Make it last all night  
She was an American girl_

As Skye and the band played out the rest of the song which was instrumental Beckett was first with her husband and Julia to applaud just before they finished. "Great, now play the anthem," she said teasingly.

"Oh no, we have songs we perform better," Skye replied. She motioned to Julia and once the girl was with her leaned down so she could whisper into her ear.

"Is that me?" Paul asked.

"And Ringo, apparently she thinks we should start with the band," Skye replied before she murmured the title to him and Ringo since the other singer had joined them. "Claps?" she asked them.

"They can," Ringo was first to say, nodding to their 'audience.'

"Alright," Paul said. He went to get his Hofner before he turned to everyone else and said while Ringo was switching places with Barry, "We'll need your help on this one, some claps. Skye?"

"Barry will show you," the investigator said with a smile. "So just follow his lead."

"Wait," Beckett said as she suddenly noticed that Jackie was coughing behind her hand. "We'll get you guys some water," she told the band as she stood up.

"I'll join you," Brennan said quickly. He went after his cousin to the house and inside the kitchen said, "This is mad."

"Believe me, Rick and I have thought of that already," Beckett said with a smile. "But they really are here; wait until they start to play."

"I'm quite keen on seeing them both play," Brennan said. "Though we did get a hint of what Ringo can do."

"I know, that was amazing," Beckett agreed with him. "Okay, we have enough for everyone," she said, seeing the mugs of water on the tray they'd gotten ready. "Let's go." She let her cousin take the tray; as he insisted; and held the door open for him before they went into the backyard. She wasn't really startled to see Eliza standing next to Ringo before she suddenly broke away and ran over towards her. She was going to tell her daughter to stop when Eliza did abruptly and then began talking extremely rapidly to her surprise.

"They showed us how to clap but I know already," the little girl replied.

"What about us?" Brennan asked, motioning between himself and Beckett.

"You know already, Daddy and Clara said," Eliza answered.

"We'd better get back," Beckett said with a smile. She took her daughter's hand and they walked together down to the band where she passed out the mugs of water. "You're not playing?" she asked Jackie as the woman had her guitar off.

Shaking her head, she said, "We don't need four guitars on this one." Jackie smiled and said, "They're going to start since some of the kids already know this song."

"We'll just sit, and we'll be ready," Beckett said, taking the tray from her cousin and going over to Castle. "How is she?" she asked him.

"Not bad," he replied as they both looked at their baby since she was wearing some headphones.

"We'll have to put her to bed after this one," Beckett murmured to him while the band was starting to play their instruments randomly.

Castle nodded and turned his attention to Paul who was talking to Ringo, laughing before the singer came up to his mic. "Are you going to start?" he asked jokingly.

"No heckling," Mary said. "And we are."

Skye watched Paul to wait for his counting in and once he had they played the intro to the song until the two of them could begin the first verse.

 _Oh I need your love babe  
Guess you know it's true  
Hope you need my love babe  
Just like I need you_

When they'd finished, Beckett was fighting a smile as the three guitarists stopped playing and Skye motioned to everyone in front of them just before they were beginning the chorus.

 _Hold me, love me, hold me, love me  
I ain't got nothin' but love babe  
Eight days a week_

Julia giggled when Paul gave them all a brief salute, going back to his guitar as they needed to play again. She glanced at her parents, smiling when she saw that Castle had wrapped his arm around Beckett, before she looked at Mari who was next to her, nudging her before they shared a smile and turned their attention back to the song.

 _Love you every day girl  
Always on my mind  
One thing I can say girl  
Love you all the time, ooh_

"How many times does the chorus play?" Castle murmured to his wife, knowing they were about to start clapping again.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett replied as she was looking at Eliza who was bouncing on her knees; knowing the little girl couldn't wait to clap again. She glanced at her husband; who was watching Eliza too; and she took the moment to squeeze his hand before Paul, Skye and Mary were taking their hands off their guitars again.

 _Hold me, love me, hold me, love me  
I ain't got nothin' but love girl  
Eight days a week_

 _Eight days a week  
I love you  
Eight days a week  
Is not enough to show I care_

 _Oh I need your love babe  
Guess you know it's true  
Hope you need my love babe  
Just like I need you_

Skye looked over at her children and smiled when she saw Ivy and Iris had wide smiles on their faces before she looked at her wife who winked at her. She laughed then but it had to be done quickly since they were getting to the chorus yet again and needed to sing and clap.

 _Hold me, love me, hold me, love me  
I ain't got nothin' but love babe  
Eight days a week_

 _Eight days a week  
I love you  
Eight days a week  
Is not enough to show I care_

"Final round," Paul announced in his mic as quickly as he could, waving his hand before he, Skye and Mary began to sing again.

 _Love you every day girl  
Always on my mind  
One thing I can say girl  
Love you all the time_

 _Hold me, love me, hold me, love me  
I ain't got nothin' but love babe  
Eight days a week  
Eight days a week  
Eight days a week_

Mary played her Rickenbacker to close out the song until she could finish, and she smiled at the way the kids applauded; still trying to clap as they had during the song. "Thank you," she said with all the others.

"While you decide the next song," Beckett said, standing up with Castle. "We're going to put Josie to bed, we'll be back as soon as she's set."

"What about if she needs to nurse?" Castle asked, taking off the headphones on Josie while Beckett was holding the carrier.

"She will now," Beckett said. When she saw her husband looked startled she smiled and said, "She woke up."

"And just from that you can tell?" Castle asked doubtfully.

"Instinct," Beckett replied. She let her husband take the carrier once they were inside the house and she picked up Josie, carrying her while they made their way up to the baby's room. She had just walked in with Max and Molly leading her before Josie started to fuss. Sitting back in the rocking chair shortly after she said, "I told you."

"I didn't doubt you," Castle said with a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed. "How're you feeling?"

Smiling up at him Beckett said, "I'm fine but we can wait, right?"

"Oh don't worry, we can," Castle replied hurriedly. "I just wanted to see if you were alright."

"I am," Beckett said before she looked down at Josie. The baby was looking up at her while she was nursing, and she said to her husband, "She wanted to check too."

Tilting his head over to the side so he could see, Castle watched as Josie closed her eyes and he said, "And then go back to her meal."

"She never stopped," Beckett said in amusement. She had to shortly after switch Josie to her other breast and asked, "Can you look out and see what they're doing?"

"You don't think they're going to perform without us, do you?" Castle asked as he stood up and hurried over to the window as she had asked. He wasn't surprised when she didn't answer, and he smiled before telling her, "Julia's talking to the band, Paul and Ringo."

"I wonder if there's a problem with the song she picked," Beckett said as she gently ran her hand over the back of Josie's head.

"Maybe… I also wonder if Paul and Ringo will play them all," Castle commented.

Beckett didn't say anything, watching the baby closely to make sure she was alright until she finished nursing. She handed the baby to Castle before she cleaned up and fixed her sundress she'd been wearing for the evening. After she'd done that she went to the window, peering down on the backyard to see that their oldest was still talking but that time to Skye and Paul. "Ringo's still at the drums," she told her husband before she looked to the side and saw he was standing with her.

"Maybe they'll perform one of his songs," Beckett said.

"I think they are," a voice said from the doorway.

Seeing there was no one there Castle and Beckett shared a look before they said together, "Come in Ryan."

"And Jenny, she's here too," the detective said as he walked into the room with his wife, holding Danny.

"He's asleep?" Castle asked, looking at his wife.

"He is, too much today," Jenny said.

"Too much for Keo and Maddy too," Darnley said when he and his husband walked in carrying their children.

"Good, they're likely going to perform until the fireworks go off," Castle commented as he moved so Beckett could kiss their daughter goodnight.

"Then we'll have to hurry," Ryan said.

"Don't worry," Jenny said quickly as she stood after tucking Danny into the cot with mesh on the sides of it. "They're waiting, the kids are wading."

"We're heading back," Darnley said as he and Nkosi were done with their kids.

"So are we," Beckett said. She watched Castle turn on the web camera that was on the dresser looking at all the kids and smiled when he walked hurriedly; yet carefully; over to her at the doorway. She took his hand as they followed their friends until they were out in the back and she saw Eliza was on her father's lap.


	23. It's The Fourth Of July (Part 2)

"Think we'll have to put her to bed?" Castle said.

"Not for a while," Beckett said in amusement as the little girl was jumping up and down slightly on Jim's lap.

"Are we ready?" Skye asked once everyone that had taken their children into the house were sitting back down.

"Yeah, go ahead and let us know though," Castle commented.

"Alright, just for that plug your ears," Skye told him teasingly.

"No way," Castle said jokingly as he tried to reach for Eliza who shook her head and wrapped her arms around Jim.

"This one is one of mine," Ringo said, a little absently as he was adjusting his mic. He was going to continue speaking when he stopped at the other applauding that and he laughed slightly saying, "Thank you. It's a request from young Julia, _After All These Years_." With that he hit his drumsticks together to count off and they began to play a bit before he started to sing on his own.

 _We didn't have the time to think things over  
We had a lot of fun, we had some tears  
Stepping out of loneliness  
Now the road don't seem so long  
After all these years  
_

 _Rock and roll has got a reputation  
Bad boys cause a lot of fear  
But I never meant to really hurt you, oh no, no  
After all these years_

Julia squeezed Mari's hand tightly as she knew the others in the band were enjoying performing it; even Barry as she'd asked them and Paul to sing the chorus since she loved it and had joked to them that it had applied to them all. She wasn't surprised to see Skye slightly raise her eyebrows at her and Paul wink, listening to their vocals all together and amazed that it worked.

 _Traveling the world in a rock and roll band  
It's in my blood, it's in my blood  
Ooh but you know it's good to be back home.  
Dancing with your sister on a Saturday night  
It's understood, it's understood  
When every boy and girl  
Ooh was rocking all over the world_

Castle watched his wife applaud Skye's slide guitar in the instrumental before she started rock her body back and forth, going back to Ringo.

"Still got it man," the investigator told the singer.

"Can't lose it," Ringo replied with a smile.

"Never will," Skye told him before she had to go back to her mic. But she was smiling still at his nod; that she knew was a thanks; and they sang one lyric together before some instrumental and the chorus started up again.

 _After all these years_

 _Traveling the world in a rock and roll band  
It's in my blood, it's in my blood  
Ooh but you know it's good to be back home  
Dancing with your sister on a Saturday night  
It's understood, it's understood  
When every boy and girl  
Ooh was rocking all over the world_

Looking over at Julia and Mari when they suddenly got up and started to dance, Beckett smiled as the other kids were swift to join them though there wasn't much left to the song. Even with that she wasn't surprised they didn't seem to mind at all, going over to Ringo together once he'd finished.

 _We didn't have the time to think things over  
We had a lot of fun, we had some tears  
Stepping out of loneliness  
Now the road don't seem so long, long, long, long, long_

 _After all these years  
After all these years  
After all these years  
After all these years_

"Hey now, what's all this," Ringo said jokingly as he was looking at the kids. "So you enjoyed that."

"That's a great song to dance to," Jake said.

"It is," Ringo replied, reaching for his mug of water to take a drink. "Since of course we Beatles had some poppy stuff."

"Are you going to play again? You don't have to," Eliza said quickly.

"I think I might," Ringo said.

Since the singer was looking at her Julia waited for her sister and their friends to head back to the adults when the parents started to call them. With the band and Paul joining her, she whispered the name of the song she had thought of them to perform. "Do you know it?" she asked Paul and Ringo.

"I do but it's best if you let me play acoustic," the former told Skye.

"I'll take the other," Mary said.

"We know it well," Skye told Julia. "Go on and join your family, we'll take care of it."

"Thanks," the girl said with a smile before she went back to her family and watched the band prepare. "I picked this one for you Mom," Julia said with a smile.

"Great, I just wish I knew which song that was," Beckett said though she wrapped her arm around her daughter as she was sitting on the other side. Skye was calling their attention then and soon after she was beginning and as soon as the first few chords were played, she smiled and hugged Julia tightly, knowing the song and eager to hear her friend's take on it as she began to sing the first verse.

 _You thought that you knew where I was and when  
But it looks like they've been foolin' you again  
You thought that you'd got me all staked out  
But baby looks like I've been breaking out_

Nodding to her wife, Skye smiled when Mary stuck her tongue out at her playfully before they turned their attention to the chorus, relieved that Paul joined them too.

 _I'm a dark horse  
Running on a dark race course  
I'm a blue moon  
Since I stepped from out of the womb  
I've been a cool jerk  
Looking for the source  
I'm a dark horse_

Playing a bit between that and the next verse Skye looked down at Julia and saw the kids had begun dancing again. She smiled to see Ivy and Iris dancing with Marie and Kathleen, Fleur on her own but near her sisters. She glanced at her wife, catching her watching them as well before turning her attention to the adults.

" _Ná ag iarraidh a rince_?" Castle murmured to his wife.

Since he'd asked she didn't want to dance, Beckett replied, " _B'fhéidir níos déanaí_." When he looked at her with slightly wide eyes for her maybe later comment she couldn't help her lips quirking slightly in a desire to smirk though she soon got it under control as Skye was singing again.

 _You thought you had got me in your grip  
Baby looks like you was not so smart  
And I became too slippery for you  
But let me say that was nothing new_

 _I'm a dark horse  
Running on a dark race course  
I'm a blue moon  
Since I picked up my first spoon  
I've been a cool jerk  
Looking for the source  
I'm a dark horse_

Beckett was impressed by the way Skye held the last line, wondering how many times the band had practiced it since she seemed very familiar with it. But seeing her friend during the instrumental there she realized it wasn't so much the band practicing it, more that she herself loved the song. She couldn't help but smile as Skye and Mary sang the next verse together, looking at each other the whole time, which let her know it was a special song for the two of them as well.

 _I thought that you knew it all along  
Until you started getting me not right  
Seems as if you heard a little late  
But I warned you when  
We both were at the starting gate_

 _I'm a dark horse  
Running on a dark race course  
I'm a blue moon  
Since I stepped out of the womb  
I've been a cool jerk  
Cooking at the source  
I'm a dark horse_

Playing out the last of the song Skye finished the last chord on her Fender bass and then called, "How about a cheer for George." As the others in front of them continued to applaud she looked at Beckett who'd walked up to her.

"What is it with the song?" she asked with a smile after handing out towels to the band.

"She calls me that occasionally," Skye said, nodding to her wife. "Plus, it's just a good song."

"Speaking of songs," Beckett said as she'd noticed Julia coming up behind her. "Have fun with the next one."

"You don't want to hear Mom?" the girl asked.

"I'll be surprised," Beckett replied simply before she walked over to her husband, sitting down with him.

"What do you think?" Castle asked his wife.

Beckett shook her head with a smile telling him, "I have no idea. And she's not going to tell us."

"Nope," Julia said as she was walking back by then. She smiled and said as she sat with them, "This one is the last one Paul and Ringo are gonna play. Skye wants to know how long they have until the fireworks when this song's over."

"They want to perform all the way through?" Beckett replied. When her daughter nodded she smiled and then said, "I'll tell her once they finish up."

"Alright," Paul said as Ringo was standing in between himself and Skye. "This is the last song for the two of us," he told the others. "One from my days with Wings we'd play together at the concerts. And young Julia," he said, smiling at the girl who started to blush. "Requested this to be the closing for myself and Ring."

"Been a pleasure to play for you all," the other singer said with a smile. He gave the others a peace sign as they applauded him, and he went back to the drums

"Hopefully you don't mind," Skye then said as Ringo was getting ready. "I don't have a double guitar, but this will get the job done."

"Just play," Esposito yelled out jokingly.

"We will," Paul said. "Are we ready?" he asked the band and Ringo. When they all nodded he counted them in and they started to play, heavily with the guitars before he nodded to Skye and they walked up together to the mics to begin the first verse.

 _People gathered here tonight  
I want you to listen to me!  
To your left and to your right  
You've got some pretty soily company_

 _Reader, writer, famer, priest  
Breed controller, born deceased  
Indian, lawyer, doctor, dog  
And a plumber with a fattened hog_

 _Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said its oily  
Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said it's oily  
You know he's right_

There was an instrumental break there and Beckett looked over at Eliza, who was standing up and going to her sister. The two started to dance and she was about to nudge her husband to tell him to take pictures of them when she glanced over and saw he was already doing so with his phone. She smiled and motioned to Eliza when she looked at her before the little girl was hurrying over to her to sit on her lap as Paul and Skye were beginning to sing again.

 _Romans, Italians, country men  
I want you to listen to me!  
I've said it twice and I'll say it again  
We've got some pretty soily company_

 _Liar, cheater, jungle chief  
Saint, believer on relief  
Action painter, Hitler's son  
And a commie with a tommy gun_

 _Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said its oily  
Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said it's oily  
You know he's right_

The group played an instrumental before Paul nodded to Skye and she stepped up to her mic, looking down at her guitar until she was singing the next verse on her own.

 _Romans, Italians, country men  
I want you to listen to me!  
I've said it twice and I'll say it again  
We've got some pretty soily company_

 _Liar, cheater, jungle chief  
Saint, believer on relief  
Action painter, Hitler's son  
And a commie with a tommy gun_

 _Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said its oily  
Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said it's oily  
Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said its oily  
Soily, soily  
The cat in satin trousers said it's oily  
Soily_

"Thank you, thank you," Paul said to the applause as he was taking off the guitar he'd used.

"Yes, thank you for that!" Ringo said as he handed the drumsticks to Barry. "Enjoy the band," he said.

"Tip your waitress?" Castle asked as she singer walked by them. He smiled when Ringo started to laugh and shook his hand in passing before he looked at Skye with the others.

"Alright," the investigator said, adjusting the bass she had switched to. "Anyone wants to sing along feel free to."

Beckett glanced at Julia; since she wasn't sure if her oldest had told the band her song choice yet; before they started. As Julia stood up she smiled, since she had her answer with that, and she turned to Skye and her band as the song began. Hearing the lyrics for _Lady Madonna_ being sung by Skye and Raj, she knew why Julia had picked it as the kids were rapidly dancing together to the tune while she and the other parents looked on.

* * *

"That was insane," Lanie said to Beckett.

"I know," she said.

"You're not used to it?" Clara asked.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I've only seen Paul and Ringo perform with them once. Back in LA last fall so this was… impressive."

"Does he perform for you at all?" Lanie asked Barbara as she was with them on the beach.

"Sometimes, when he'll get an idea for lyrics he might sing them for me," the woman answered. Barbara smiled and said, "I have gone to his concerts of course."

"How's Tommy?" Beckett said to Jenny as she joined them.

"Out," the woman replied with a smile. "He's going to be so mad he missed the fireworks, but I wasn't about to wake him up." Jenny then turned her attention fully to Beckett and said, "This was a great party."

"It was," she replied. "Though I'm not sure if we'll be able to do this next year."

"Have you planned that yet?" Skye asked with a smile.

"No," Beckett replied. "Which is surprising I know but I'm sure Rick will talk to me about it at one point."

"Is it almost time?" Skye called to her wife as she was walking down the grass.

"Rick said," Mary replied before they headed down the sand together.

As Lanie, Jenny and Barbara left her as well, Beckett was alone when her husband walked up to her and said, "Did you check on her?"

"I did not," Castle replied with a slight smile. "Have you?"

"I did," Beckett said, having teased him he would go into their youngest's room and wake up the kids asleep there to check on Josie. "She's fine."

Castle nodded before she touched his arm and he said, "Sorry, just trying to see if they're starting yet."

"You'll be able to hear it," Beckett said laughingly. She was going to tell him to go with her to get their daughters wading in the breaking waves before there was the sound of something like a cannon and shortly after the first firework exploded. She followed him down to the blankets still on the sand and she sat while he was trying to get their daughters to slow down as they ran. "You know you're not supposed to run," she said as she took Eliza and Julia into her arms.

"Sorry but we don't want to miss it," the latter said with a slight laugh. Julia turned around and looked up at the sky as the next firework was going up, leaning against her mother before Beckett wrapped her arm around her. She suddenly recalled her sister, leaning around their parents to see her on the other side of Castle. She wasn't surprised their father was pulling the obviously frightened Eliza in front of him so he could cover her ears with his hands.

Beckett gently touched Julia's hand, making her sit back before they watched the rest of the display. At the grand finale, she looked at her husband as she knew he liked to applaud it but didn't have the chance. Seeing he didn't seem to really mind she reached over and squeezed his arm before the last fireworks went off and they were all applauding. "Are you guys heading back home and to the hotel?" she asked the others.

"We are," Lily said with a smile. "Sophie and the other young kids are out."

"And our other kids need to go to bed," Brennan commented. "Well? You do lass," he said to Erin who was looking at him.

"He's right," Castle said. "So I guess that's it for the party."

"You're throwing us out?" Esposito said.

"No but we're not going to really do much with them all in bed," Castle said.

"Okay, the hotel bar it is," Esposito said.

"Are you going to come over tomorrow?" Julia asked, going over to him.

"I will, one last day off," Esposito said. "Well, before the wedding of course."

Seeing Lanie glance at the detective Beckett then said, "So you'll come back at breakfast, after? Before?"

"After," a few said. After some laughter, the cleanup began; since they would be at the pool the next day; and once that was completed they went into the house to gather their children, items or both. When they'd said goodbye to everyone leaving those left at the house took the kids remaining up to Josie's and Eliza's rooms, getting them ready and saying goodnight to them. Castle and Beckett; checking on Josie; were last to their room, stepping inside it while he closed and locked the door. They didn't say anything, instead headed over to their windows to look out on the ocean before Beckett spoke first while she was taking his hand.

"You have that look on your face," Beckett told him as she made him wrap his arm around her waist.

"What look?" Castle asked as he held her tightly to his side while looking down at her.

Beckett didn't reply at first, instead reaching for him to cup his cheek and guide him to her lips. After they'd parted she smiled and said, "You're remembering something."

"Yep," Castle said simply before he went to her neck.

Closing her eyes as his lips seemed to be searching her skin, Beckett eventually said, "I… maybe we should get to the bed."

"Yes," Castle murmured before he paused. "Wait, no," he told her, straightening up. "Sorry but it's not all sexual."

"I know but I still think we should get over there," Beckett said, letting go of him and pulling him after her. "Start," she said, climbing up on the mattress.

Castle, watching her, smiled and got up with her, lying next to her before he wrapped his arms around her. Instead of starting he began to kiss her, deeply, feeling she didn't mind him waiting as her tongue was quick to fight against his when he slipped it past her lips. They did that for some time, doing his best not to move his hands around her too much before he was the first to pull away. "It was in '34. Julia was twelve, Eliza almost seven, Alexis almost five and Josie four."

"We were celebrating?" Beckett asked as she reached up to him to gently rub her fingers through his hair and rake her nails against his scalp.

"We were, in the back," Castle said. "We'd eaten dinner and were just spending time in the yard together. We were all there, your sister, Patrick, Mary, your mom too." He studied her and when she nodded to him he kissed her forehead before he continued, talking first about him with their daughters.

* * *

 _"Da!" Josephine exclaimed with a giggle. "Look!"_

 _"I see," Rick replied, watching her waving the sparkler in the air in front of her. "Keep it well in front of you lass."_

 _"Be careful," Kate said, walking out with a tray of coffee._

 _"I am Ma," Josephine said. She saw her big sisters walking out to her and asked with a smile, "What do we do now?"  
"Here," Julia said, taking the sparkler. She took it to her father, watching him dip the end into some water, before she said, "Can we play croquet?"_

 _"Of course," Rick said, standing up. But before he could get the game set up for their children he turned to Kate and pulled her close, kissing her tenderly on the lips. They both lingered for as long as they could until they were slowly parting, and he smiled saying, "Will you play as well?"_

 _"Sap," Kate told him teasingly. "Go on." She watched him go to the garage before she felt a hand on her arm. "What?" she asked her twin._

 _"Oh, nothing really," Rose said idly. "But we could all see you."_

 _"Shocked?" Kate replied._

 _"Horrified," Rose answered before they smiled at each other._

 _Squeezing her twin's arm, Kate asked, "Will you play too?"_

 _Shaking her head Rose told her, "I'll watch with the others, you have enough with the six of you."_

 _Glancing at her; as she and Josephine would be playing together; Kate went over to her daughters and put her arm around Alexandra. "You'll all stay calm," she told the four. "We're not going to play for the World Series."_

 _"We won't compete?" Elizabeth asked._

 _"Oh no," Kate said as Rick was coming back to them. "I think we should play."_

 _"I can't make any promises love," he said as he looked to her seeing she was looking at him. Rick smiled and then began to set up the hoops in the grass with her help until they were finished and going over to their daughters so they could begin._

 _Waiting for the girls to hit before them Kate said, "Will you help her?"_

 _"You don't want to?" Rick said, looking over at her to see their daughter was tugging on her mother's hand._

 _"I think she wants you to," Kate said, smiling._

 _"Alright, but you should know Josephine," Rick began. "We'll be winning."_

 _"Da," Josephine said._

 _"Thank you honey," Kate told the little girl. She went over to her husband then and murmured in Irish, "_ You'll pay for that _."_

 _"_ Good _," Rick replied in the same language._

* * *

"I didn't," Castle told his wife as she was laughing at their exchange. "We lost track of that… paying back thing when we eventually got to bed."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said, leaning over and kissing at his jaw a few times. She reached up to his shirt then and carefully unbuttoned the first two before slipping her hand underneath the fabric, feeling her husband's heart beating a little harder and his breath quickening.

"D-do you want me to keep going?" Castle asked. "Or jump to when we're in bed?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said, carefully removing her hand. "What did we do after croquet?"

"We had watermelon," Castle replied, taking a moment to recall that. "After that we needed to put our three youngest to bed since the fireworks were after nine."

"They fell asleep?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "Alright. But the fireworks? And Julia too."

With a nod Castle then said, "We took the car," simply before he was swift to continue.

* * *

 _"Are we there?" Julia asked, looking out the window of the Model T._

 _"We are," Rick said, stopping at the vista looking down on San Francisco Bay and out to the city itself. He helped Kate down from the car and with their daughter they went down road until they found a free space among the people that were already there. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand that was on his arm before he looked at Julia who was on her other side._

 _"What do I tell them?" the girl asked her parents._

 _"They knew you were coming here already," Kate said, knowing the girl meant her little sisters. "So don't say anything unless they ask."_

 _Julia nodded before they turned ahead of them and when the fireworks began she grabbed her mother's hand, squeezing it as they could see them high above the city. "It's swell Ma," she said._

 _"I know but it's only just started," Kate told her daughter, wrapping her arm around her. Holding her close they stayed where they stood the entire time the fireworks were going off, though it felt like shortly after they finished. "We'll have to come back next year," she said to her husband and their daughter._

 _"With my sisters?" Julia asked while they began to walk back to the car._

 _"Of course," Rick said. When his wife looked at him he quickly said, "They'll be older love." He paused and then said, "Well… Josephine could stay with your ma."_

 _"She can," Kate replied. She opened the door for Julia to climb into the car and said to her oldest, "You'll have to get right to bed you know."  
"I know," Julia said in slight irritation as she was yawning._

 _"We'll head over to the beach tomorrow," Rick said, standing behind his wife._

 _"I know that too Da," Julia said with a wide smile. "I can't wait."_

 _Watching Kate step into the car, Rick closed the door for her before he said, "Escort you home?"_

 _"Go on," Kate said with a laugh though she cupped his cheek briefly._

* * *

"We… Kate?" Castle asked as he realized his wife's hand was sliding underneath his shirt again.

"That's it right? We end up back in our room back at home?" Beckett responded with a question, doing her best to keep her hand still.

"Not right away," Castle replied.

Beckett tried not to roll her eyes and told him, "I realized. But eventually we got there, and we didn't do much else."

Shaking his head Castle grabbed her hand and sat up with her following as he told her, "Are you sure you want me to talk about that? We should just get started ourselves I think."

With a brief shake of her head, Beckett leaned over and kissed her husband as hard as she could on the lips. She was pleased when he responded immediately to her before she was reaching for his shirt, tugging on it to pull it out of his jeans. They were still kissing as she pulled it off his shoulders and couldn't help smiling when he moved to help her get it off his arms. "You will tell me," she told him when she'd caught her breath. She ran her tongue over her swollen lower lip saying, "But these clothes are in the way."

Castle didn't say a word; as he knew what his wife wanted to do already; and he reached for the back of her sundress so they could finish undressing each other. It seemed to go quickly, though they were pausing repeatedly to kiss and touch one another, and finally he was laying his wife down on the bed. "Still?" he asked her.

"Wait," Beckett said, reaching up to him and drawing him down to her. They kissed again and as he slipped his tongue into her mouth she wrapped her right leg around him, pulling his body down to her as hard as he could. She wasn't surprised when that kiss ended with him grunting in response and she smiled at him before saying, "Still up to telling me?"

"You changed your mind?" Castle replied.

"You figured it out?" Beckett said simply.

"I did," Castle said easily. He then smiled when she was doing so again and he leaned down to her, kissing her deeply before he forced himself away. "We were like this but fully clothed," he began. He shuddered when Beckett ran her hand down his back until she was cupping and squeezing his ass, making him take a moment to get back to what he was going to tell her. But he was soon able to, starting then with what they'd done when they'd finally managed to stop kissing with their clothes making them very uncomfortable.

* * *

 _"Be careful," Kate was telling her husband as he was pushing up the skirt of her dress so fast she thought he'd rip it._

 _"You think I'd risk ruining this?" Rick replied absently as he grabbed the stocking on her right leg._

 _"No," Kate said simply while she watched him bare her legs to him. She shivered momentarily as he kissed her skin a little hungrily before he moved to her dress itself._

 _"Couldn't take my eyes off you love," Rick told her as she turned around for him, both moving off the bed once they'd finished kissing. "You looked smashing."_

 _"As do you," Kate said quickly, biting at her lower lip when his hand held her back once he had her dress opened there. She stopped him from taking off the pale green patterned fabric before she turned to her husband. She unbuttoned his shirt and then did the same with his trousers, looking down with him._

 _"I said I couldn't take my eyes off you," Rick said jokingly in self-defense. When his wife didn't say anything, he was concerned for a moment before she was pulling off his shirt and they got his clothes off. He didn't let her move once he was naked, removing her dress before they made swift work of the rest of her clothing. His intent was to take her to the bed straight away, but he was shocked when she held him in place and knelt in front of him._

* * *

"And was I able to continue?" Beckett asked interestedly when Castle stopped there.

"I… no," he replied after thinking of that for a while. "You… let me just tell you."

Beckett suddenly pushed her hands on his shoulders and once he was sitting up she climbed off the bed telling him, "I want to do that at the same time." When she got no response from him she looked at him and with a smile asked, "You figured?"

"I knew," Castle replied, smiling himself though it wasn't really staying in place. At the quick motion of her hand he got off the bed himself and then stood in front of her, watching her get directly on her knees. " _That's so fucking hot_ ," he couldn't help saying in Irish as she was staring at him the whole time.

"I did that too," Beckett said. "Back then."

"Why do I need to tell you if you know," Castle said, hissing at the end as she'd taken his erection with her hand.

Beckett didn't bother to answer, instead she brought her mouth down around the very tip of his length, laving her tongue around it for a moment before she pulled back. "Go ahead," she told him simply.

"That's all I get?" Castle asked.

"For now," Beckett said, looking at him pointedly.

"A little more… please," Castle begged. When she gave him a full-blown look he told her, "You can stop whenever you want I just can't tell you while you do that." At the sound of her sigh he knew she would give him that and he asked, "Mind if I sit?"

"No," Beckett said in amusement. "But don't pull my hair."

"I wouldn't," Castle said earnestly, though he knew she was joking as she was aware how much he appreciated her locks. Sitting on the edge of the bed he waited for her to get into a comfortable position before he started the memory again from where he'd left off, caressing his wife's hair gently as he spoke.

* * *

 _Reaching down to her, Rick tried to stop Kate, but she seemed determined to continue. He was hissing and groaning out her name as she took him into her mouth and he held onto the back of her head, trying not to grip it too hard while she moved back and forth._

* * *

"Now what?" Beckett asked since he'd stopped again.

"You didn't…" Castle began to say.

"You are so lucky I want to do this," Beckett said, narrowing her eyes at him. But she didn't do that for long as she went to his member quickly and then proceeded to bob her head on him.

Trying not to bite into the side of his mouth as the pleasure was instantaneous Castle started to stroke his wife's hair again. He ran his fingers through it and couldn't help groaning in disappointment when she stopped. He was going to beg her to continue when she stood up. "You're done?" he asked in surprise. When she didn't answer he followed her, sitting on his knees next to her on the bed as she parted her legs and reached down to herself. "You can't do that," he said in protest.

"I did then," Beckett said easily. She wasn't surprised when her husband nearly jumped on her and they wrapped their arms around each other tightly as they kissed. When they finally stopped she said, "Finish."

"Definitely," Castle said almost hoarsely as he leaned down and kissed her again. He did so deeply before he pulled away from her slowly and said, "I was a little upset you stopped too," before he continued from that point in the memory.

* * *

 _Cupping her hands over her husband's cheeks Kate pulled him to her for a kiss, keeping it short before she squeezed him briefly and stopped touching herself with her other hand. "What should we do now?"_

 _"You don't know?" Rick asked._

 _Kate smirked at him before reaching out to him and taking his hand, leading it down to her sex as he watched. When he was swift to start moving his fingers she reached up and grabbed his shoulder when he leaned in close. They kissed each other deeply and repeatedly until they were stopping before she said, "Don't stop."_

 _"Never," Rick said before they were kissing again._

* * *

"I think you get the idea," Castle told his wife as she'd stopped touching herself while he spoke. "And you don't have to stop that."

"Pervert," Beckett shot back. She did her best not to laugh when he nodded his head and then said, "You pleasured me and then I worked on you… one of our calmer nights relatively speaking."

"Should we copy ourselves fully?" Castle asked her.

"Not exactly," Beckett said.

"You have an idea?" Castle asked, watching her and seeing the way her expression abruptly changed.

"Mmm-hmm," Beckett replied easily before she made him move down to her. They were kissing but she merely rubbed her tongue against his before she stopped them both and told him, " _Le chéile_."

Kissing his wife deeply, since she had just told him the word together, Castle then said, " _Can I come inside you_?" speaking in Irish as well.

" _Of course_ ," Beckett replied before she reached down to him and took his erection in her hand. She was relieved when he was quick to respond to her by both groaning and reaching for her sex. She paused in moving up and down on him and bit at her lower lip before her husband was leaning down so he could kiss her. Once he'd done so she went back to stimulating him and said, "Why is this frustrating me?"

"It's doing the same to me," Castle replied, grunting slightly as he was being affected deeply.

"You decide what we do next," Beckett nearly begged him. When he stopped rubbing at her clit she pulled her hand away from him and said, "You had this in mind already."

"Of course," Castle said before he turned them around, leaning against the pillows that Beckett was quick to stack behind his back. Looking at her breasts; as they were close; he grit his teeth together as hard as he could until she was finished. Luckily he had the chance to get her into position before he held her by her waist. When she didn't move he asked, "Do you want me to move you?"

"No," Beckett said, reaching down to his right hand that had gone to her clit again. "Maybe you should have just used your mouth."

"I prefer touching right now," Castle said. "I'll stop if you move."

Narrowing her eyes at him, Beckett's reaction was to merely shift before she said, "There, I moved."

"Vixen," Castle breathed before he grabbed her and turned her onto her back. As soon as she was set he moved down her body until he was at her sex, letting himself spend as much time as he wanted at her clit before she was nearly pulling his hair. "Too much?" he asked.

"Yes, too fast," Beckett breathed out to him. She then smiled and said, "And I need to be able to move and do what I can afterward."

"I can wait," Castle said, gently rubbing his fingers flat on her folds.

"Liar," Beckett gasped out as he was starting to rub his index finger on her clit again.

"I know, and I can't wait," Castle said, moving so he could go to her folds. He let his tongue flick out repeatedly, rubbing it all over her until he gently slipped it inside of her. At the same time, he set up a pace he moved her legs over his shoulders so he could have better access and hold her in place since he knew she was going to move even more than she was already. He brought his right hand into play next, unable to stay away from her swollen nub as he wanted to pleasure her the most he could knowing that would help him. Listening to his wife's reactions he was nearly shuddering in his own pleasure while he tried to ignore the way his body was throbbing hard.

Her hand still on her husband's head, Beckett stroked at it in a vain attempt to distract herself, but it wasn't really much help. The way her husband's tongue and fingers were moving were affecting her and her body was burning pleasurably and seemingly unendingly. She moaned his name when his hand and tongue switched, and she gasped as he started to suck at her clit. "Oh… Rick, please… I… I'm going to come too fast," she gasped out as he was going too rapidly for her to deal with. She was startled when he stopped and she looked down at him, watching him get up. She was about to ask what he was going to do when he answered her hurriedly as he ran his hand deliberately down her side.

"I had to do this then too," Castle told her, lying next to her at her insistence with the way she touched him. He wrapped his left arm around her before he cupped her cheek with his right when he paused.

"Keep going," Beckett said, her amusement filling her voice.

Looking down at her Castle saw she was serious so he leaned down to kiss her as deeply as he could while she was holding onto him tightly. When they spent a while flicking and rubbing their tongues together they slowly parted and he smiled at her saying, "I wasn't going to tell you about our memory anymore."

"Then you should probably finish what you started," Beckett said, wondering why he wasn't feeling the same amount of need she was. The kiss and his tongue had made her body literally thrum with the rhythm of her heartbeat and she was desperate.

Castle was abruptly reminded of his own desire as she brushed her fingertips along his length and he moved in a rush to lay between her legs again. That time he didn't stop or hesitate, pleasuring her with his mouth and hands before he could tell she was close.

Holding onto the bed on either side of her, Beckett somehow had enough wherewithal to try not to move too much so she wouldn't hit her husband's head with her knee. Everything was building up within her and she cried out wordlessly to Castle before she could speak, with her body burning, warning him, "I'm going to come… oh… Rick please…" When his reaction was to lightly squeeze her clit that was the last straw for her and she was soon after throwing her head back on the pillow underneath it as her orgasm washed over her. It felt unending, waves of pleasure that made her jerk and undulate and call his name repeatedly until she somehow felt herself calming down. She was still throbbing though, and feeling her husband gently rubbing his tongue inside of her and then against her folds she reached to his head, caressing it until he stopped and moved up to lay with her.

Kissing at her temple and the side of her head, Castle couldn't stop himself as he ran his hands over her body below her breasts. His erection was pressed against her side and he was doing his best to keep from moving any part of his lower body. At one point his wife turned her head and he kissed her on the lips, fighting with her tongue for a bit until she pulled back first. "Kate?" he asked as she looked into his eyes seriously. "Kate?" he said again when she didn't respond to him.

Beckett moved her husband on his back without a word, hearing him grunting in surprise before he lay flat with his head propped up on a pillow. "No protest?" she asked as she straddled his thighs.

"You can see me, right?" Castle replied. He shuddered in pleasure when his wife looked down his body pointedly and he said, "I won't last that long," in warning as she began to stroke his chest gently.

"I'm aware," Beckett replied. "And I don't really care." With that she slid down his body, going directly to his erection before she took it into her mouth. She was bobbing her head quickly, wanting to get him to his release after he'd had to wait so long pleasuring her. She touched him at the same time, holding the base of his length with one hand as the other touched wherever she could. She could see he was holding onto the sheet on either side of himself, watching the way his fingers would clench and then relax repeatedly. Shortly after that she realized he was close and it spurred her on to work a little harder until she felt his entire body freeze underneath her.

"Kate!" Castle was able to yell as he climaxed after she was moving faster. He only uttered her name once, too swept away by how intense his pleasure was going through his body. He was only vaguely aware of Beckett still working over him while he held himself as motionless as he could, trying not to move and somehow hurt her. When everything finally stopped he was still throbbing and he muttered, "Thank you."

"Don't, remember I wanted to do that," Beckett said with a smile once she had pulled away. She stayed at his side, looking down at him with her free hand on his chest; the other propping up her head; and said, "What did we do after?"

Castle looked at his wife in surprise before he smiled and said, "We brushed our teeth since we were going to bed once we were finished and-" before she stopped him by climbing over him.

"Come on, we should do the same thing," Beckett told him before she went over to the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth as her husband was doing the same and she glanced at him in surprise when he finished first despite starting after her. When he walked around her she couldn't speak and could only watch in the mirror as he stood directly behind her, cupping her ass. She rinsed her mouth as fast as she could and said, not turning to him as she normally would have, "You did this before?"

"Yeah," Castle said, caressing her. "You told me to stop and I did but I didn't let you tell me what to do next; I did this instead," he continued before he moved swiftly.

Beckett only let out a slight gasp when her husband picked her up in his arms and when he studied her she told him, "I had a feeling you were going to do that." When he simply nodded she realized what she could feel under her fingers was an indication that his arousal was getting out of his control. He was holding himself tense and she watched him climb onto the bed once he'd set her down on it. "Did we do this too?" she asked, reaching for him and pulling him on top of her as he was getting on her himself at the same time.

"Yeah we…" Castle began before he trailed off when he saw his wife's hand was going down to his erection. He couldn't speak while she was helping him enter her and didn't bother until he was fully within her, their hips pressed together firmly, though he delayed for a moment. Their lips met, and he caressed her side until she pulled away with a moan at him shifting slightly within her. "Kate," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett told him as she caressed his hair. "I want you to fuck me; I don't care if we did that before. I just want you."

"I want the same," Castle replied. "I need you love."

"Take me lover," Beckett replied. She could have smiled at the way her husband groaned but he was making his first thrust shortly after. All her focus went to Castle as she wrapped her arms and legs around him and they began to make love roughly to one another. She felt her pleasure rising quickly as they were soon concurrent with their thrusts and as they couldn't seem to get enough of each other already she knew they wouldn't be stopping for some time until their intense desire was temporarily slaked.


	24. By My Side

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great seeing the feedback for the last chapter so will go ahead and start on my thank yous! MsNYC (I was happy to see your reaction to Ringo being there, lol. And not surprised you enjoyed the conversation that Lanie and Beckett had even though it was short as you said. Great I had a twist with Aronson testifying against his wife, since you are right the guy would normally take the charge but it's me showing their weird relationship. And so happy you loved their little concert they had. No surprise you loved the flashbacks, but glad you did of course. So happy that you though the love scenes were tastefully written as usual since that's what I try to do! And pleased to read that you enjoyed the concert Ring, Paul and the band put together, lol, I had really been hoping readers would enjoy it. And of course, nice to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Really pleased seeing that you liked how Ringo and Barbara were brought in. And I'm so happy you thought it was a great chapter. Nice reading you liked that Paul and Ringo played well together, definitely had to have that since it's them!),

Mb (It was great to see you thought the first half was amazing, sweet and beautifully written. I wasn't surprised to see you're jealous again of them getting the private concert from Paul and Ringo. But glad that you're including the band in there too! And nice to read that you thought it was so very sweet. You're welcome for the first half! I'm very happy that you thought their 4th of July celebration was fantastic. I'd thought it was a little simple but to see that you thought the concert was amazing and the fireworks over the water too was simply the best was really nice to read. Really great you mentioned the flashback and Castle and Beckett recreating that night in the present. I wasn't surprised to see that you don't think they could anything but hot, sensual and loving at any time. The same with you thinking they would be tremendous parents and friends too. Nice to read you thought it was fantastic. And you're welcome for sharing the second half too!) and

vetgirlmx (I was happy that you though the chapter was really good and really fun too. And I'm glad that you thought the party was amazing since they've had everyone over for; as you said; a few days now. But great that the performances from Paul, Ringo and the band made all the difference! And I think I mentioned at the start of the story that they thought the neighbors were out on vacation… lol, but you're right, those that were there probably were on balconies and in gardens, lol, to try and see and listen too. I would think too that they all had a great time with the concert they had, lol, and glad you mentioned the kids having an improvised dance party since I figure kids would really do that. And not surprised you were kinda glad that Lily's restaurant catered the party. Oh, and don't worry, lol, barbecuing is really prevalent here I did that with my family last month on the 4th (though we had carne asada on the barbeque, lol), so I wasn't surprised that you imagined them doing that. But yeah, with so many it wouldn't have worked… and taken too long, lol. And it made me laugh a bit to see you lost count of how many there are with more joining them, I did too, lol, which is why I didn't mention it in the chapters. Really pleased to see that you're enjoying them all there and having a good time together. And of course, great that you can't wait to see what happens next and now you don't need to anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them and I appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _End of the Line_ by Traveling Wilburys, from their album _The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1_.

By My Side

"Mommy? Mommy you gotta wake up."

Blinking her eyes slowly Beckett looked at her middle daughter and smiled at her saying, "Morning sweetie," before she realized what she'd said. "Why do I have to get up?" she asked as she sat up with a yawn.

Eliza was going to answer when Castle walked into the bedroom, Josie in his arms crying loudly. "That's why," she said to her mother, pointing to the baby.

"I know," Beckett said with a smile, leaning down and kissing the top of her head after she'd sat up. She hurried to unbutton her pajama top and took the baby as soon as her husband had walked over to them. "Morning," she told him.

"I wanted to let you sleep," Castle said simply.

"Get down here," Beckett said in amusement as she reached up to him with her free hand since Josie was nursing by then. Once he was sitting down next to her she cupped the back of his neck and then kissed him gently on the lips as Eliza was still there along with Julia who'd come into the room after him. "Are they ready?" she asked him when she'd pulled away though she'd wanted to do much more than that.

"Do you really need to ask?" Castle replied.

Beckett laughed softly and shaking her head said, "I guess not," before they turned their attention to their daughters together.

"Dad said it's not that hot," Julia said in a rush.

"The humidity says less than yesterday," Castle said as his wife looked to him.

"And it's cloudy?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she smiled and said, "Yes we can go to Coney Island like we were talking about going to. But when we say it's time to go home-"

"We will," Julia and Eliza said at the same time.

"They're well trained," Castle commented when his wife looked at him again.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "In that case either you need to get breakfast ready or help them get dressed."

"We'll start breakfast," Castle said.

"I'll help him," Julia said with a smile before she went to her mother.

After hugging her oldest Beckett watched the two leave the room and then turned her attention to Josie who was pulling away from her breast. As soon as she had her set at the other she looked at Eliza who was in front of her, about to tell her she didn't have to stay when the little girl was suddenly speaking.

"Is Josa gonna like the zoo too?" Eliza said.

"I think so," Beckett replied with a smile. "Even if she can't really see much yet."

"Is the wedding tomorrow?" Julia asked, coming back inside the room then.

"The day after tomorrow," Beckett said gently. "Tomorrow you're spending with your grandparents and sisters."

"Are we still gonna spend the night tonight?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"And tomorrow night though I still think you should stay at your grandpapa's old apartment just one night," Beckett said with a slight frown. "It's not his anymore."

"But he said his friend said it was okay for him to stay there," Julia protested.

Beckett wanted to speak again but she stopped there as Josie was finishing nursing and she had to quickly take her away from her breast to start burping her. "Alright, if his friend said then I guess you can stay there. But be careful with everything in the apartment," she told her daughters.

"We will," Julia said as Eliza nodded next to her. She then turned to her little sister and said, "Dad asked me to come get you, to ask you to set the table."

"Are you cooking too?" Eliza asked.

Shaking her head Julia said, "He's just making oatmeal. Is that okay?"

"It's fine," Beckett replied as that question had been directed to her. "Go and set the table Eliza."

Julia, watching her little sister leaving asked her mother, "Why did I stay?"

With a smile Beckett beckoned her over and placed the baby into her arms before she buttoned her top. "Now you can go help your sister," she said once she was ready and off the bed.

"I can't put her in her chair?" Julia asked.

"When she's a little bigger," Beckett replied.

"Tomorrow?" Julia replied.

"Go," Beckett said with a laugh, knowing she was just joking since the girls would be at the apartment. She took Josie back and walked with her out into the living room; their whole family in the loft for Lanie and Dylan's wedding that Saturday. They'd arrived the night before; the eighth; to spend time in the city with the girls though hers and Castle's parents were going to be taking them starting later that night after they left Coney Island. Before that they were going to go to Prospect Park Zoo, planning to take things at a leisurely pace even though the weather had cooled down a bit though it was still going to be humid. When she and Julia were at the table she was about to ask her husband something when he walked over to the table with the pot of oatmeal to her surprise.

"It doesn't take that long to cook," Castle said. "And everyone else is awake."

"Your mother?" Beckett asked.

"Her too," Castle said with a smile, not surprised she had asked. He was going to help her put Josie into her carrier on the high chair at the table but since she was doing that herself he said to their other two daughters, "Better wash your hands guys."

When Josie was settled, smiling up at her, Beckett leaned over and gently brushed her lips to the baby's forehead with a murmur that she loved her. After the other three had come to the table she went to wash her own hands before joining her family for their breakfast. She and Castle spent it listening to Julia and Eliza talking about the animals they wanted to see, not surprised they were so eager since they hadn't taken them to that zoo yet.

"If you do want to go," Castle said, checking his watch when they'd finished and were clearing the table. "You better get dressed."

"Do we need to help you wash?" Julia asked.

"I will be," Beckett explained while Castle was taking the baby in her high chair over to the kitchen where they'd be able to see her as they were working. When the girls hurried up the stairs she turned to her husband to see if he was starting when suddenly he was in front of her. She had little time to react when he suddenly kissed her, but she recovered in a rush, wrapping her arms around him tightly as he held her close to him. Their kiss was far more intense and though it didn't surprise her she still had to almost cling to him before she ended it first. "Sorry, you might want to warn me just slightly next time," she said jokingly to him.

"Taking you by surprise is better," Castle said with a smile. He leaned over and brushed his lips to hers before he said, "Get started?"

"You might want to," Beckett replied in amusement. They turned their attention again to the kitchen, once they checked quickly on Josie, and hurried to clean everything from breakfast until she was watching her husband take their baby from her carrier. "What about you getting dressed?" she asked him.

"I will," Castle said, nodding over to the stairs.

Beckett turned her head to see their daughters were coming down with their brushes and she smiled saying, "Are you going to carry her?"

"No, let her go on the floor," Castle answered before the girls could. He waited for Julia to set down her brush before he handed the baby to her and told her, "We'll be back."

"Okay," Julia said. She watched with Eliza as their parents went over to their room and she smiled at her little sister saying, "Want to get the blanket?"

"No, Daddy got it," Eliza said before they went over to the space of floor in front of the coffee table where there was a larger blanket laid out. She watched her big sister set their little sister on her back on it. "Is she gonna do it?" she asked.

"You don't have to whisper," Julia said with a giggle. "And I don't know… maybe not," she said, not surprised her sister had asked that as Josie had recently started to roll onto her side while laying on her back. "But it doesn't matter. Want to play with her with her toys?"

Eliza nodded and then watched her sister go to grab one in their sister's bag that was on the table by the door. She was thinking of the ones they'd brought with them when she realized which one would be the best to use with Josie. She was about to tell her sister when Julia was suddenly getting her attention, though she didn't stop watching the baby, when their big sister was speaking shortly after to her.

"What about the keys, she likes those," Julia said.

"I was gonna say," Eliza said, nodding her head. She watched her sister come over to them and said, "She's kicking her legs."

"She wants to play," Julia replied before she dangled the plastic keys over the baby. She smiled when Josie gurgled and kicked her legs a bit before she was smiling as well.

"Don't let her chew on those," Castle said as he and his wife walked out of the office.

"You're wearing a dress?" Julia said to her mother in surprise.

"You don't want me to?" Beckett asked. When her daughter wrinkled her nose at her she said, "If you're wondering how I'll nurse your sister she's going to have her bottles."

"Oh…" Julia said.

"We've done that before," Castle said, sitting next to his wife on the couch with Josie in his arms. "So don't worry." He then glanced at Beckett as she was starting to work on Eliza's hair and said, "Though you still could nurse her."

"I'll wait to see what the circumstances are when she needs me," Beckett said, giving him a look as he was obviously ogling her. "You're finished sweetie," she told Eliza as she'd braided her hair. "What would you like?" she then asked Julia when she stood in front of her.

"Two braids," Julia replied.

With a nod, Beckett was quick to part her daughter's hair since Julia had already brushed it. Once she had finished she said, "Now we can go." She shared a smile with her husband when the girls cheered, and she watched them head back upstairs to get their things. As soon as they were out of sight she turned to her husband, eyebrow raised as she waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"You can still nurse her," Castle told her.

"I can…" Beckett said slowly before she trailed off, looking down at her dress. Since she was wearing a nursing bra underneath it she finally said, "Alright but if you wouldn't mind helping me…"

"No," Castle said quickly. "I don't mind at all."

With a smirk Beckett said, " _Ba mhaith lea tach breathnú_."

Since she had told him he just wanted to look Castle nodded and said, " _Go dtí dur féidir liom teagmháil a dhéanamh feisin_."

Beckett didn't reply to his comment, which meant until he could touch too yes, instead she turned to the girls who were coming down the stairs and then said to her husband quickly, "Just pack three bottles."

Nodding Castle grabbed Josie's bag and then her bottles before he was going over to Beckett who was covering Eliza's arms, legs and face in sunscreen. "Want me to hold her?" he asked Julia who was holding Josie.

"Don't you need to get covered up too?" the girl asked.

"I already did," Castle assured her. He took the baby from her but before she could go to her mother he stepped in front of her, handing Josie to her. "I'll take over love."

"Thank you," Beckett said as she shifted the baby slightly. Kissing her temple, she watched Castle covering their oldest until she was ready and she took Josie over to her carrier.

"I like her dress but isn't she gonna get sunburned too?" Eliza asked her mother.

"She had sunscreen and she'll be covered too," Beckett assured her. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Castle said, not surprised when Julia opened the door and her sister was quick to race after her. He smiled at his wife at their reaction before they walked out together with him pulling the baby's stroller behind them, making their way with their daughters down to the lobby and the street outside.

* * *

"Don't run," Alexis said to her little sister, trying not to run after her.

"I wanna see," Eliza replied as she stopped and let her big sister take her hand.

"I know but it's hot and you don't need to get overheated," Alexis replied. "Drink some water while we wait for everyone."

Though she wasn't thirsty Eliza took the bottle and drank some of the ice water inside before her sister sprayed her with the mister that was also at the top. She giggled and said, "Are you happy?"

"I am," Alexis assured her. "Are you?"

"Yeah," Eliza said, nodding rapidly. She then frowned slightly and asked, "Why don't you stay with us at Grandpapa's? Gram is gonna be there too."

Shaking her head Alexis said, "Dad and your mom were really nice to get us a room at the hotel so we're going to take advantage of it."

"Kay," Eliza said. "You don't want your room?"

With another shake of her head Alexis distracted her sister by pointing out that the others were getting close. She and her boyfriend were staying at the Ritz-Carlton, her father telling them it was for a last vacation for the two before the family vacation and them starting their jobs. They were both enjoying it greatly, though she was doing her best to turn her attention to her family as she was looking forward to spending time with them at the zoo.

"They have sea lions too," Julia said once they were standing around the pool, looking at her mother.

"I see, take some pictures before we go," Beckett urged her.

"How's Josie doing? Martha asked, going over to her daughter in law while the kids were taking pictures with Alexis' and Louis' help.

"She's fine," Beckett replied, looking at the baby with a smile as she was turning her head. "Want to take her."

"You're alright with her out in the… clouds?" Martha asked while she was taking her youngest granddaughter.

"She has her hat on," Beckett replied though it was still cloudy, making sure it was tied securely under the baby's chin. "But she'll have to go into her carrier soon."

"Of course," Martha said, walking down the railing around the pool as she was talking to the baby.

"Hey," Beckett said, turning to her husband and seeing he was next to her taking her hand. "You're bored already?"

"No," Castle said, shaking his head quickly. He then smiled and said, "No pictures?"

"I was debating," Beckett replied. She couldn't help smiling herself when he looked at her in surprise and told him, "I did want to walk around with them."

"We're only going around once?" Castle said.

"We are. You want to go to Coney Island too right?" Beckett asked him.

"Of course," Castle said quickly. "But what about the girls? Especially Josie."

"I talked with your mom and she'll take her to my dad's," Beckett said. She paused and then said, "I guess I mean his old place."

"Good idea," Castle replied. "Since Mother wouldn't really want to stay out." He frowned and said, "What about the park though? They need a break, don't they?"

"Which is why we're going to stop at a restaurant there so we have some drinks and relax before going back out to the park," Beckett explained.

"Okay," Castle said with a nod. He then looked over at their daughters and said, "I guess we can keep going."

"Are you two ready?" Beckett asked Julia and Eliza as they'd walked over to them.

"Yeah, which way first?" the latter asked.

"This way," Castle said, nodding to the direction of the trail to their left.

Looking around them while they were walking, Julia had to wonder if they were going the right way as there weren't any animals. But just when she was about to ask if they were going to see anything she heard a squeal from her sister.

"Puppies!" Eliza said eagerly.

"No," Alexis said, unable to help laughing as her sister was tugging on her arm. "Those are prairie dogs."

"Oh… they're cute," Eliza said eagerly. "Help me take a picture?"

"Of course," Alexis said quickly before kneeling to do that.

Watching them Beckett turned to Julia and saw she was walking down the habitat with her camera up to her face. She hurried after her and stopped her daughter before she could run into people saying, "I hope that's it for your panorama."

"It is, sorry I forgot there were people there," Julia said in embarrassment. When her mother hugged her to her side with one arm she smiled and said, "Are we gonna keep going."

"Yes, and you should tell your sister there are some things we're going to see that you'll like," Beckett said. She half expected her daughter to say they would like everything there at the zoo, but she watched while Julia hurried to her little sister. She smiled at her father and was about to ask him if he was having fun when he spoke before she could.

"Have you told them this zoo isn't very big?" Jim said.

Shaking her head Beckett replied, "I figured they wouldn't mind even if they realized."

"Is that why you're going to Coney Island?" Jim asked as they were walking last behind the others.

"No, that was Julia's suggestion," Beckett replied. She then said, "But it works out since we'll have time to go around a lot of it."

"Hopefully the clouds hold up at least," Jim commented as they were nearing some water.

Beckett nodded in agreement with him before she walked ahead to where Martha was pushing Josie in her stroller. "Is she awake?" she asked.

"She is," Castle's mother answered with a nod. She smiled and told her daughter in law, "And she seems to be doing very well."

"You're talking to her," Castle said as he went to his wife.

"What?" Beckett asked since he'd taken her hand.

"Nothing, the girls just want you to go over with them," Castle explained.

Looking ahead Beckett saw they were on the bridge over the pond where there were turtles, swans and ducks. "Do they mind we missed the viewing area back by the prairie dogs?" she asked him as they walked to the three.

"I don't think they noticed," Castle said. "And I wasn't about to mention it."

Beckett couldn't help laughing but she soon turned her attention to the girls saying, "Do you like the pond?"

"Yeah, I wanna go swimming too," Eliza said first.

"Put your hat back on," Castle said in amusement as the little girl had taken it off and was waving it to the birds under them.

"I was saying hi," Eliza said in mock protest as she was putting her hat back on. "Can we have a turtle?"

"We told you before sweetie," Beckett replied gently. "We're happy with dogs and fishes."

Sighing Eliza said, "I like aminals."

"I know," Beckett said, rubbing her hand over her daughter's head not covered by the hat. "But we do have animals at home."

"Yeah," Eliza replied before she went to her father.

"Can we keep going?" Julia asked hopefully.

"Yes, come on," Beckett said while Castle was picking their daughter up and setting Eliza on his shoulders. When they'd gotten to the next thing she looked at Julia and seeing her looking up at her hopefully again she said, 'Yes you can go too."

Eliza, as soon as she was down on the ground, started to skip with a squeal that didn't stop until she'd gotten onto the 'spider web' that was ropes strung horizontally. There were other children there, but she was able to find a spot where she could climb up and her sister as well when she joined her.

"At least there's shade," Martha commented as she and Jim were standing under a tree watching their grandchildren since Alexis had joined the girls as well.

Looking down at Josie, Jim couldn't help smiling before he said, "She'll regret missing this."

"You don't think they'll bring her back when she sees those pictures?" Martha said, since Beckett was taking them with her camera.

"They will when she does," Jim said in amusement before they turned their attention back to their family in front of them, their granddaughters calling to Louis.

"I don't think I can join you," the young man said, looking around at the ropes. "Thing will collapse and that'll be it for that."

"I'm here Louis," Alexis said wryly, going over to him.

"And I can throw you around," Louis replied. When she was just staring at him he wanted to ask what was wrong when his girlfriend suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders and he was yelling as she pulled him onto the ropes. He was laughing as he recovered and supported his own weight before sitting down. "Should we have your parents come and join us then?" he asked once he felt he was steady enough.

"Oh no," Beckett said, looking pointedly at her husband. "I'm happy right where I am." She then looked at the girls; since they'd been climbing all over the web; and asked Eliza, "What're you doing?"

"We're spiders," the little girl said, holding her index fingers under her teeth. "Daddy says they have fangs."

"They do but I'd prefer to have my little girls with me," Beckett said as she reached for her middle daughter.

"Yeah," Eliza said, moving her fingers before her mother pulled her up so she could take her off the web. "Are we gonna keep going?"

"We should," Castle said, taking her from his wife. "The animals are waiting for you."

Giggling Eliza waited for her father to set her on his shoulders before she leaned her arms on the top of his head. She watched as they were walking again before they went over another, longer bridge and she smiled at the animals there on that side before they walked again. "What are those?" she asked eagerly when she saw some tall birds in one habitat.

"Emus," Louis told her. "Best not to get too attached," he couldn't help saying as the little girl looked at them eagerly. "They've got quite a kick."

"Yeah," Eliza said. She then realized what he'd said and asked, "Does that hurt?"

"A lot," Alexis said.

"Oh… they're pretty," Eliza commented before she looked over to her right and saw her mother was getting Josie out of her carrier. "Look at the birdies Josa!"

"She can't see them can she," Julia said to her mother, keeping her voice low so her sister couldn't hear.

"No but I don't think she cares," Beckett said with a smile as she was watching the baby.

Julia couldn't help taking a picture of her littlest sister smiling as she was turning her head away, managing to get her mother in the shot, smiling at Josie. She quickly turned to the large birds before she took some pictures of them. She was luckily to get them as shortly after her mother was squeezing her shoulder, letting her know they were continuing. At the next habitat, she was the first to see what they'd come to and she gasped before going to her father saying eagerly, "Look at what they have Lizzy!"

"They've seen these before?" Louis asked his girlfriend.

"We saw one in San Diego," Alexis explained. "Obviously they enjoyed seeing it."

Louis laughed slightly and nodded in agreement, since the two girls were at the front of their group, watching the red pandas in the exhibit in obvious fascination. He thought they'd end up staying there for some time with that reaction but was startled when they were continuing quickly. He turned to Alexis when Julia was hurrying back to them and coming straight to him and he quickly focused his attention to her as she was grabbing his hand in obvious excitement right before she told them why she'd gone to him.

"Mom said there's an animal next you'll like," Julia said.

"Oh really? Let me see," Louis replied, walking with her.

"It's not exactly," Beckett said with an apologetic smile to the young man when he saw what she'd been talking about.

"No but it's close," Louis said before he saw that Eliza was tugging on Alexis' hand.

"What does he mean?" the little girl asked her big sister.

"I used to have a hedgehog for a pet," Louis explained.

"A hedgehog?" Martha asked in obvious surprise.

"They're dead useful if you have bugs in the house," Louis said with a nod. "But I found it hurt just after we moved in with Mam, nursed it back to health and it was my pet."

"Cool," Eliza said. She looked at the porcupine they'd come to and said, "Not this one."

"No, completely different animal," Louis said with a chuckle.

"Let's keep going," Beckett said after they'd been looking at the animal for a while. As they were walking she felt her daughter's hand slip into hers before she glanced down to see that it was Julia. She squeezed it before she realized her daughter was walking a little slower, making her stop so everyone would go ahead of them as she looked at her questioningly.

"We couldn't get one?" Julia asked her mother.

At first Beckett thought her daughter was making fun of her sister but she could quickly discern the serious expression on her face so she smiled. "I'm afraid not, I don't think the dogs would be really all that happy with one of those around."

Nodding, though she was disappointed, Julia let her mother lead them to the next habitat. When she saw what was in there she gasped and ran over to the railing with her sister to get a better look at the otters in front of them.

"Did she ask for one?" Castle asked his wife as he stood next to her while she was taking pictures of the animals in the water.

"She did," Beckett said with a smile. "That was a surprise though."

"Eliza asked too," Castle answered with a smile. "She was going to ask you but when she saw you were behind us still she had to settle for me."

"I don't think she's settling," Beckett said simply. She set her camera back in her bag and then reached for Josie who he was holding. Setting her against her shoulder she said, "She's going to have to sleep at some point."

"She was unsettled," Castle explained.

"Then I need to get her to sleep now," Beckett said before she began to walk around the others to get the baby to do that. She only had to go back and forth once before she felt Josie relax against her, setting her into her carrier and making sure with her husband that she was well covered though the sun still hadn't come out. She let him push the stroller when they moved on but stayed with him since the girls were with their grandparents by then.

The family looked at the tufted deer habitat that was next before they went to the aviary and they decided to have lunch, walking down towards the entrance where the café was.

"Do you know if Mom heard from Skye today?" Julia asked Jim as he and Martha were with their youngest granddaughters at their table while they waited for the others to get the food.

"I don't think she did," Beckett's father replied. "You know that their time at court was today."

"But shouldn't they be finished by now?" Julia asked, since Skye and Mary were going to see if they could adopt Ivy and Iris early.

"Sometimes it takes a while," Jim said gently.

Sighing Julia looked over at the café but didn't see her parents coming out yet, so she turned to her grandmother and asked, "How's Josa?"

"She's fine," Martha replied, checking on the baby who was still asleep.

"Doesn't Mommy need to feed her?" Eliza asked.

"She doesn't think so yet," Martha said with a smile. She looked past the little girl and to the café where she saw the others were coming out. "But now you need to feed yourself," she told her granddaughters.

"Is that for me?" Eliza asked excitedly when she saw them walking to the table.

"It is, it came with your kids' meal," Beckett said, handing the cup with animals on it and a small crazy straw to her. "And you get one too," she directed to her oldest.

"Thanks," Julia said with a smile.

"You're welcome," Beckett replied before she sat down next to her. As they started to eat she looked at Josie on the other side of her; between her and Castle; and saw that she was just waking up. She was about to take another bite of her salad when the baby suddenly started to cry, though it wasn't surprising to her as she set down her fork in a rush.

"Bottle?" Castle asked his wife.

Shaking her head Beckett stood up and took the carrier before she saw her husband was taking Josie's bag. "We'll be right back," she told the others.

"What about your food?" Eliza asked.

"It's fine, just cover it with napkins for us and make sure the flies don't get it," Castle told them quickly before he hurried after his wife to catch up with her as she was already walking to an alcove they'd spotted while walking in and out of the café.

Sitting on the bench that was there, Beckett was quick to ready herself once Castle was with them. With him blocking her with a thin blanket he held in front of her she set Josie to her breast and then glanced up at him. When her husband didn't cover them, she said with a smile, "Going to stand there like that?"

"I'm planning on it," Castle replied, nodding his head as he watched the baby with her. "She's doing well,"

"She is, the fan your mother brought helps," Beckett said with a smile as Martha had brought the one she had from Spain to use for Josie.

"I know, my mother did the same with me," Castle commented. When his wife looked at him questioningly he explained, "Not just when I was a baby, but it used to be from Chinatown."

Nodding Beckett glanced down at Josie again and said, "She'll sleep after this."

"Is Mother going straight to your dad's place?" Castle asked her. "Once we finish up here," he added quickly as he realized he'd forgotten to say that.

"I think she should," Beckett replied with a nod. "I'd like her to be inside." She sighed and then said, "Should we really let them take her tomorrow night?"

"They're capable," Castle pointed out. He saw the look on his wife's face and then added, "Plus they want to."

"It's just they're going to have to look after her a lot when we're at Disney World and Universal," Beckett explained when her husband looked at her questioningly.

"Yeah but again they want to," Castle said. "I wouldn't take away their chances to be grandparents."

Laughing Beckett was going to speak but she had to focus on Josie for the moment, switching the baby to her other breast. "You mean spoil her," she stated when the baby was set.

"It's what grandparents like to do," Castle said. "But they're not going to do that really."

"No," Beckett said in agreement. "Alright, but she's staying with us tonight."

"They understand," Castle replied. He looked at his wife after glancing at Josie and was about to ask what was wrong when she told him what was on her mind.

" _You're not tired just standing there_?" Beckett asked him in Irish.

" _No, we'll sit for lunch_ ," Castle replied. When he saw the way his wife was staring at him he smiled and said, " _I'm blocking you on purpose love_."

" _Thank you_ ," Beckett replied. She smiled that time as her husband had looked suddenly startled and said, " _I do appreciate it, I don't want anyone else seeing me you know_."

" _I had a feeling_ ," Castle said easily. He watched their daughter for a bit before he then said, " _Would it bother you if I told you I love you_?"

" _No, you've said that to me while I've been doing this before_ ," Beckett replied.

" _Good, I adore you_ ," Castle said. " _Also love you_."

Beckett smiled up and him and said, " _I love you too_ Rick."

Castle wanted to kiss his wife badly but since he recalled that Josie would be finishing soon he instead worked to get a towel from the bag over his shoulder. He had to cover up the baby to get it onto Beckett's shoulder but once it was set he went back to holding the blanket. It was a short time after that she was pulling Josie away and was burping her soon after. "Still not moving," he told his wife, still covering her.

"I appreciate it," Beckett said with a nod before she turned her attention fully to their youngest. It didn't seem to take long before Josie was finished, and she rocked her carefully before she set her back in her carrier. She fixed her bra and dress in a rush so her husband could put away the blanket and she asked softly, "Your arms?"

"They're fine, my arms are muscly," Castle replied easily. He laughed, trying not to do so too loudly as she gave him a look, before he said, "I couldn't help it."

"Thank you," Beckett said.

"You're welcome," Castle said before he leaned over and kissed her deeply on the lips. Since they didn't have the chance he didn't let it linger, pulling away shortly after before he was going over to the carrier, picking it up.

"We didn't take too long did we?" Beckett asked as they went back to their family.

"No, we wanted to wait," Alexis said, not surprised her stepmother had noticed they'd done that.

"Thanks for that," Castle said, he and Beckett sitting down. "But eat," he urged them. "We're starving."

"You are Daddy," Eliza said with a giggle.

"I am," Castle replied before he playfully bumped his head against hers since she was sitting on the other side of him. "But I know you have to be too, we did a lot."

"Yeah," Eliza replied with a nod. She went back to her chicken tenders, eager to eat them since they were in the shape of dinosaurs, listening to her family talking and hoping they'd discuss what they'd see next in the zoo as she couldn't wait to get to explore much more.

* * *

"Kitty!" Castle exclaimed, looking at his daughter as he said that.

"I know Dad," Julia said, frowning at him before she smiled. "What kind of cat?"

"A Pallas's Cat," Castle said, reading the information on it.

"Pretty… it's fluffy too," Julia said.

"Not cute and fluffy?" Castle asked her.

"It's not Stitch," Julia said though she was smiling and then giggling softly. She took a picture of it and then said, "Is Mom gonna meet us?"

"She said she would," Castle replied, he and the girl were waiting for her mother after she'd gone to get some frozen drinks for their dessert. He turned back and saw that she was walking to them then. "There she is," he said.

Hurrying over to her mother Julia said, "Do you need help Mom?"

"I'm fine," Beckett reassured her as she was holding two cup trays in her hands. She wasn't surprised when her husband took one tray and she told him, "I asked them to separate them by flavor."

"So, these are yours," Castle said, pretending to hand it to Julia since the drinks he had were cherry flavored.

"I said mango Dad," the girl said simply. She smiled and then said, "Everyone's walking around."

"I can see that," Beckett said with a nod. She then said, "We better go or else Eliza's going to run around to find us, and her dessert."

Castle wanted to make a comment, but he followed his wife and their daughter around to find where the rest of their family was. They spotted them at some golden looking animals and he said, "Oh, that explains why she's not looking for us," as the little girl was almost plastered against the railing.

"Lizzy," Alexis told her little sister. She looked at her boyfriend when the little girl didn't react to her and she then said, "Lizzy, dessert's here."

That reached her, and Eliza turned her attention to her sister, smiling and saying, "Yeah?"

"Right here," Castle said, taking one of the cherry frozen drinks and handing it to her as she rushed to him.

"Yay," Eliza said happily before she buried her lips into the ice.

"Eliza," Beckett said quickly with some laughter. "Not like that. You have a spoon."

"Oh," the little girl said, looking at her mother as she was holding out one to her. She took it and was going to eat it when her mouth was suddenly being wiped off making her cry out, "Gram!" though it was muffled.

"Can't have that dripping down your face; you'll ruin your dress," Martha commented with a smile. "Go ahead and eat though."

"Did you see those Jules?" Eliza asked her sister, pointing to the animals with her spoon.

"We saw those before," Julia said, looking over at the placard for the animal. "Tamarin."

"Golden Lion Tamarin," Castle said. "These were in San Diego, weren't they?"

"They were," Beckett said as he'd been looking at her.

"Mom," Julia started to say, the mention of the city reminding her of something. Before she could continue though she heard her mother's phone ringing and she watched with everyone else as she took her phone out of her pocket.


	25. By My Side (Part 2)

"It's a text from…" Beckett started to say. She read and then said with a smile, "Skye and Mary."

"Did they find out?" Castle asked.

"They did," Beckett said in surprise. "And they have custody of them; they'll be able to adopt them fully in about six months in California."

"Are they gonna come here?" Eliza asked.

"They are, they're going to stay at the Ritz too," Beckett said, glancing at her husband.

Shaking his head Castle said, "I didn't know when they'd come here so they went there on their own."

"They did know we were staying there," Louis pointed out.

"Well they're leaving very soon so Skye will be going with us to the spa," Beckett said, hurriedly texting her congratulations to her friend.

"Why not Mary?" Julia asked as they were starting to walk again.

"She wants to spend time with the girls on her own," Beckett said. "Now that they have Ivy and Iris."

"What about Skye?" Martha asked.

"She'll be doing that back at their home," Beckett replied. "They may go back home after the reception… they might go with Lanie and Dylan to JFK for all I know."

"Cool," Julia said. "But what will she do with them?"

"Skye mentioned that Mary will take them swimming at the hotel tomorrow," Becket answered. "And likely Skye will do that back at their home. Don't worry, she'll spend time with her daughters. What's next?"

"We're going in here," Castle said, pointing out the building they were going up to. "But we're going to take a detour."

Julia shared a look with her sister before they went to walk with their father and went inside the building. She looked at the animals they were already passing but they didn't stop until they were outside again. "Why are we going here first?" she asked him.

"That way we can come back and then leave," Castle explained. "Hopefully you guys like this area." He waited for one of the girls to spot the first animal and when it was Eliza; squealing over the sight of a goat; he started walking after her when he felt his wife take his hand. He turned to her when she squeezed gently and stopped him from saying anything so she could speak right away, making him wonder briefly what she needed to say as she began to talk.

" _Tá muid ag glacadh leo go díreach chuig ma capaill_?" Beckett said, asking him if they were taking them straight to the horses.

" _Beidh siad deireanach_ ," Castle replied, meaning they would be last.

" _Tá tú ag tortú orthu_ ," Beckett said, telling him teasingly he was torturing them.

" _Tú nó túse_?" Castle said jokingly which meant them or you.

Beckett's response wasn't verbal, she merely narrowed her eyes at her husband though she hadn't let go of his hand in that time. She pulled him after her, going to the girls who they could see were watching for them at some candy machines that were filled with grain. " _Tá tú_ -" she began with, saying the words yes and you before she realized she was still speaking Irish. She stopped herself when she saw the way Julia and Eliza were smiling at each other. "Sorry, yes you guys can feed them but your sister's still asleep so leave her be."

"But she doesn't get to feed them," Eliza pointed out though she was looking at her father who was getting some of the grain into a handkerchief.

"Good, she's too little still," Jim said. "Also try not to touch your sister after feeding the animals."

"Oh, we weren't gonna do that," Julia reassured him after taking some grain from Castle. "That's gross."

"Be careful," Beckett said as the girls went into the petting zoo with Louis and Alexis. She half expected her husband to go in after them but when he went to wash his hands she smiled and said, "We'll be right back," to her father and mother in law before Castle was coming over to her and taking her hand.

As they walked around the petting zoo, Castle glanced at his wife next to him and asked, "No questions as to why or telling me to stop?"

"No," Beckett said simply. She smiled again when he looked at her with a slight frown and she told him, "I figured we'd be doing this."

"You're not worried the girls are going to protest?" Castle then asked.

"No," Beckett repeated. She squeezed his hand and told him, "They're right behind us." She couldn't help laughing outright when he froze and then looked back to find the others were with the girls at the sinks. "It's alright," she told him as she saw the dismay on his face. "Ask them if they want to go back."

Glancing at his wife, Castle then looked ahead of them and saw the girls walking quickly to them which made him smile. "We should go back, you didn't get to-" he began to say once they were close enough.

"No!" Julia and Eliza said together. The former looked at her little sister when their father pretended to jump in surprise and Julia said with a smile, "It's okay Dad, we know you're gonna go to the horses."

"We really wanna see them," Eliza added earnestly. She then held up her hands and said, "My hands are clean, Jules' too."

"Then let's go," Castle said. He took Julia's hand when she went to him and when Eliza was with Beckett he started to walk to lead them to where they had the horses.

"Oh," Eliza breathed when she spotted them.

"They're Clydesdales," Beckett said quickly as she saw Julia was looking at her.

"They're really tall," the girl said in amazement.

"They're draft horses, which means they can pull heavy loads," Jim explained. He glanced at his daughter and said, "Would you be able to pet them?"

"Hold on," Beckett said with a smile, going over quickly to an employee that she'd seen. She knew her daughters were watching so she hoped they have the chance to interact with the animals as she neared the woman to ask her.

"I think you guys will be able to pet them," Castle said, having been watching his wife and seeing the smile on her face as she walked back to them.

"They said it's alright, but Harriet is going to stay with us while we do this," Beckett explained to everyone once she was with them. "And I start." She couldn't help smiling at the way the girls nodded firmly, and she then went over to the horses who were looking over the railing at them. Holding out her hand she waited for them both to sniff at her palm before the one on the right pressed down into it. She couldn't help laughing as she reached up and carefully ran her hand over its forehead. When the worker said the horse liked around its ears being scratched she quickly did so and felt Julia and Eliza walking up to her to stand next to her. "Are you two ready?" she asked the girls.

"I am," Julia said eagerly.

Since her oldest was tall enough to reach Beckett merely watched as Julia let the horses smell her hands and then pet it as she had done, though the girl couldn't reach the ears.

"How do I do that?" Eliza asked, trying not to sound too impatient.

"Here," Castle said, picking her up. He stuck his hand out with her and they let the horses smell them before they pet the one on the left together. "So that's it right, we can go?" he asked jokingly. He laughed when both Julia and Eliza glared at him and said, "Okay, but there's more to see."

"We can take our time," Beckett commented, sharing a smile with her husband before they turned their attention to their daughters and the horses as Alexis and Louis joined them.

* * *

"Easy sweetie," Beckett was saying to the baby as she was moving her legs and making the water go over the edge of her tub. She leaned over and gently pressed her lips to her forehead before straightened up and looked at her husband as he walked up to her.

"She doesn't look very tired," Castle commented.

Shaking her head Beckett was about to tell him that she would sleep when she paused and looked at him more closely. "What's on your mind?" she asked him as she turned her attention back to the baby so she could rinse her off.

"You're still planning on taking a shower," Castle asked her.

"I would like to," Beckett said. "Why?"

"I wanted to spend some time with her," Castle replied.

"Well… I don't think she'll be asleep yet," Beckett said. "And I was going to take a shower right after this," she added.

"Great," Castle said, looking at their youngest. He smiled, since the baby was, and then shook himself saying, "I almost forgot, I can take care of her after you're finished here."

Beckett merely nodded, as she knew her husband really wanted to do that, and she focused on Josie until she was rinsed off completely. Once she was sure she was finished she picked her up and handed the baby to Castle since he had a towel ready for that. She dried off her hands, watching her husband drying their daughter off, before she set aside her towel and went up to him saying, "I'm going to take my shower, have fun," before she shared a kiss with him.

"Thanks," Castle called, watching her go over to the bedroom. When she was out of sight he looked at Josie and said, "Well, it's you and me now sweetheart." He moved quickly to take her into the bedroom, hearing his wife walking around in the bathroom, before he set Josie on the bed where her pajamas and new diaper was. He finished drying her and then dressed her swiftly before he picked her up. "There you go," he told her, kissing her cheek. "How do you feel?"

Castle smiled at the way the baby vocalized a little and he kissed her cheek gently before he told her, "I'm sure your sisters miss you too but don't worry, you'll see them tomorrow." He then got onto the bed; since he'd already changed into his pajamas; and sat up against the headboard holding Josie in front of him securely. "I have to tell you now all about Coney Island since it's going to be a while before you can go on rides and play the games with us. So, once you left with both your gram and grandpapa I went with your mom and sisters. But just Julia and Eliza since your big sister and Louis decided to head back to their hotel to swim. So, it was the four of us and the first thing we did were the rides."

* * *

 _Crying out heavily in joy as her father went around a curve Eliza watched her father turn before he started to slow down as they were coming to the end of the ride. "Aww, it's over?" she asked in disappointment._

 _"It is, but you had fun, right?" Castle asked._

 _"Yeah," Eliza said with a giggle. She looked behind their car as her father was stopping and she asked, "How come Jules didn't drive by herself?"_

 _"I don't think she's ready to yet," Castle said with a smile as they stopped and they got up out of the car together. He smiled at her and then said, "What would you like to do now?"_

 _"No more rides?" Eliza asked._

 _"Hold on," Castle said, waiting for his wife and Julia to catch up to them._

 _"What is it?" Beckett asked once she was close to her husband._

 _"What about going back on the rides?" Castle asked her._

 _Shaking her head Beckett said, "We went on almost every one you two could go on. So now we need to go to the games or you won't have any time to play them," telling the last to the girls._

 _Exchanging a smile with his wife as their daughters started to cry out, "Let's go play!" Castle said, "You made a great choice." He then picked up Eliza and put her onto his shoulders before he carried her over to the games, following Beckett and Julia._

 _"This one?" the former asked when her oldest had pulled her over to one of the stalls. When Julia nodded Beckett looked at her husband and said, "You have the card?"_

 _"Oh, yeah," Castle said, recalling that he had it. He set Eliza down hurriedly before he got it out of his pocket and handed it to his wife._

 _"Are we both gonna get to play?" Eliza asked._

 _"You are, but let your sister go first," Beckett told her. She wasn't surprised when the little girl looked at her with an angry look on her face and she said easily, "You'll go first the next game."_

 _Eliza relaxed then and watched as her sister reached out to one of the ducks that were floating in the pool they were in front of. "What is it?" she asked eagerly._

 _"A three," Julia said. She then watched the ducks again before reaching out to a blue one and saw it was a one. "Four?" she asked the worker._

 _"You can pick out a medium prize," the man said._

 _"That one," Julia replied, pointing to a stuffed Minion that was dressed as Napoleon's soldier. She held it and said, "Can I keep this one?"_

 _"Of course," Beckett said as Castle was buying the two turns for Eliza next. "Why did you think you'd have to give it to someone?"_

 _"To Josa," Julia replied._

 _"Oh, no you didn't have to give it to her," Beckett was quick to say before they watched the little girl being picked up by Castle._

 _"Careful," he said when Eliza leaned over to pick up one of the ducks._

 _"I got a… three too," the little girl said excitedly as she turned over her duck._

 _"Now you need to pick out your next one," Castle said, watching her staring at the ducks again._

 _After taking a moment Eliza reached for a green one and she giggled when she turned it over saying, "Two!"_

 _"You can pick the same sized prize," Castle told her._

 _Pointing to another Minion that was dressed in a hula outfit, Eliza held it tightly before she was turned to her mother by her father. "See?" she asked._

 _"I do, you did a great job sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile. "What would you like to play now?"_

 _"Um…" Eliza said, looking around. "That one," she said, pointing to a stall with a large, cross-eyed fish in the middle of a round tub of water. "Will you all play?" she asked her father as they walked over to it._

 _"We have to hold the prizes," Castle told her._

 _"Then you should pick the next place we play," Julia said._

 _"Are you telling him?" Beckett asked with a smile. When the girls both nodded she then said, "Then I can tell you exactly where he's going to want to go; the arcade."_

 _"That's fine," Julia said._

 _"Yeah, I like that," Eliza added._

 _"Is it agreed?" Castle asked his wife._

 _"It is," Beckett said, not delaying at all in responding though she'd wanted to. "But for now, you two need to fish."_

 _After Castle had gotten a net for them to play with he gave it to Eliza and said, "if you need my help let me know."_

 _The little girl nodded before Eliza turned her attention to the fish in the water and she soon after put her net in to grab her first. After the employee took it she grabbed her second and finally her third after some deliberation. She waited anxiously for the employee to weigh them all together and see what size prize she could get which the woman was telling her shortly after she had the three fish on the scale with a smile on her face._

 _"You got sixteen pounds worth of fish," the woman said._

 _"Is that a small one?" Eliza asked. When the worker nodded she studied the smaller prizes before she pointed to one of Woodstock and she hugged it to her tightly. "This is my favorite," she told her parents._

 _"I know," Beckett said, picking her up as she'd come over to her while Julia was starting to take her turn._

 _Waving her stuffed bird back and forth in front of her, Eliza forgot her big sister was going next before she heard Julia saying thank you and she looked at her to see she was holding a stuffed lion. "That's cute," she told her._

 _"It's for Josa," Julia said with a smile._

 _"You don't-" Castle started to say._

 _"I know," Julia interrupted him. "But I want to give this to her 'cause I have a lot of animals already." She studied the lion and said, "Will she like it?"_

 _"I think so," Castle said with a nod. "Ready for the arcade?" He smiled when the two nodded eagerly and he and Beckett took their daughters by their hands, making their way over to the building where all the indoor games were. He glanced down at Eliza who was with him, listening to her talking excitedly about playing for tickets and what prizes they could get when they finished. He squeezed her hand, getting excited himself as Julia joined in on the conversation. He glanced at his wife and seeing that she was obviously too he squeezed her arm before they finally reached the building and walked inside._

* * *

"And here is the lion," Castle said, picking it up from the bed next to him though Julia had already given it to the baby. He made it rock back and forth, smiling at the way Josie gurgled, "Ahh-eee."

"You know I agree, he dances really well," Castle said, nodding seriously. He then leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead before he said, "He told me he wanted a kiss too," as he brushed the lion to her arm. At the baby's smile, he set the lion aside and pulled Josie into a hug. "I love you _ceann beag_ ," he murmured against her temple. Feeling her tiny fist just barely hit his cheek he smiled and then pulled her away again so he could look at her face.

At that moment Beckett had finished getting ready for bed and she went to the doorway of the bathroom where she could stand watching her husband without being seen. She'd heard him telling the baby about their time at the arcade and she'd smiled before watching him show Josie the stuffed lion and then kiss her. She bit her lower lip as she heard him call the baby the endearment he hadn't used once Josie had been born, hoping he wouldn't see her as she wanted to give them as much privacy as possible.

"I know I said I wouldn't call you once you were born but I couldn't help it," Castle said. "But you know what… I might call you that when we're on our own and then say the same to your sisters when I'm on my own with them. Just two of us at a time though. What do you think?" When the baby merely cooed he nodded and said, "Great, I'll have to tell them that later." He was going to get the lion again when Josie started to whimper, and he said, "Uh-oh, K-" as he knew that meant the baby was going to start crying.

"Easy," Beckett said, walking out then as she'd heard the whimper herself. She was unbuttoning her pajama top on the way and sat down as fast as she could next to her husband, taking Josie just when she started to cry. It took a moment to get her situated but their youngest was soon nursing and she looked at her husband as he moved to sit closer to her.

"Could you hear me at all in there?" Castle asked her after watching Josie for a while. When she raised her head from where she'd rested it on his shoulder he smiled and said, "I'm guessing, I couldn't tell."

"I could," Beckett said. "It was a good bedtime story."

"Even though I couldn't finish it?" Castle replied.

Beckett smiled and said, "It's enough."

"Think she'll sleep after this?" Castle asked her.

"I hope so," Beckett said, reaching down and gently taking the baby's hand that was pressed against her breast. "But I can't wait until she can join us."

"Me too," Castle said, knowing his wife meant the baby playing with them, not just being there. "But hey she'll be with us at least for the trip."

"I know, I can't wait," Beckett said. "I hope Harry Potter's still a big thing as she grows up because her sisters are going to keep going with that for a long time."

"Most likely," Castle said before he got up as she was switching Josie to her other breast since she had finished. He grabbed a towel and threw it over his shoulder before sitting back down with his wife. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Going to the spa isn't really going to be an issue," Beckett said wryly as she watched him. She was surprised when he started to caress her hair and she said, "If you don't want me to talk about you; or us; while I'm there I-" before he was interrupting her.

"I don't care," Castle said quickly. "I know you have to Lanie already-"

"But not to her friend," Beckett interrupted him.

"Oh… well if it comes up I'm sure you won't go into detail; you already did that with Lanie," Castle said after pausing for a moment.

"And I don't want to terrify Skye," Beckett reminded him.

"You make a good point," Castle said with a smile. "But you'll have fun, right?"

"I will," Beckett said. "And you'll be fine with the girls? Alexis is going to be with Louis."

Nodding his head Castle said, "Don't worry, Julia will help me out I know. What about your dad?"

"I told you, he'll be with some other friends," Beckett said. "But remember, lunch is just sandwiches and we have dinner with Lanie and Dylan."

"Any reason why it's just the two of us?" Castle asked.

"I don't think it'd be comfortable with Espo and Ryan and Jenny have their kids, though I did offer the loft for them to stay the night," Beckett said. "But Lanie's very determined that it's the two of us."

"Okay," Castle said with a nod. "And then it's really just us back here." When he saw his wife was looking at him he said, "You had to have expected it of me."

"Which is why you didn't hear me call you pervert," Beckett said simply before they smiled at each other. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips, feeling him again caressing her hair. "Will you be able to wait until then?" she asked him in amusement.

"I think so," Castle said absently. After a moment, he realized she was giving him a look and he said, "What?"

"That's a yes or no question Rick," Beckett said.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah I'll be fine, it was still hot out there today. Draining," Castle told her.

Beckett smiled and then kissed her husband's cheek before she felt Josie pulling away. She handed the baby to her husband, watching him set her against his shoulder to start to burp her. She got up and quickly got herself cleaned and her top buttoned before she was back on the bed. She placed her hands on his knee, leaning over to him saying, "It was a great day though."

"It was," Castle replied. "I'm just glad we could fit it all in."

"So am I," Beckett said with a soft laugh. She ran her hand over the back of Josie's head and told her husband, "You can get her to sleep."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked. At her nod, he reached over to her and cupped her cheek before he said, "I'll do better after."

"I look forward to that," Beckett said seriously. When the baby was finished she sat back and watched her husband walking around in front of the bed, rubbing Josie's back until she soon fell asleep. She got up swiftly, waiting for Castle to kiss the side of the baby's head before she took her. Kissing Josie's head as well, she murmured she loved her before she leaned over and set the baby inside the bassinet they had for their visits to the city. She covered her with a very thin blanket and standing up straight she let her husband take her to the bed though Josie's bed was essentially next to theirs. When they were sitting up on it she leaned over, starting to kiss her husband when he stopped her to her surprise before he explained why he'd done that softly so he wouldn't wake up the baby.

"Sorry but I just want to make sure you want to do this," Castle told her.

"We have before," Beckett said simply before she leaned into him. She kissed him as hard as she could, throwing her arms around him at the same time before she felt him responding shortly after. As he held her close she slid her tongue into his mouth before they began to dance around one another until she slowly pulled away when she needed to breathe. When she opened her eyes, she said with a smile, "Okay?"

"Yeah," Castle said absently before he pulled her onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, reaching up with one hand to again caress her hair. "I'll remind you I'm addicted to you," he told her firmly.

Beckett laughed softly and then brushed her lips to his saying, "I know, I don't mind you doing that by the way. You never asked me that."

"No but I figured," Castle said simply. He kissed her that time but wasn't as intense as he'd been before as he wanted to move to her neck and kiss at that next.

"Easy," Beckett said gently and slightly breathlessly as he was making her body react rapidly.

"I'm not sorry," Castle said, feeling a thrill go through him as she laughed again. He raised his head to look at her and said, "Should we stop?"

"That would probably be best," Beckett said with a smile. They kissed again and lingered a little before they parted and as she got off him she checked on Josie.

"Is she okay?" Castle asked.

"She is," Beckett said with a nod before they got under the sheet. When her husband was ready she pressed against his side, her cheek to his shoulder before she murmured, "I love you Rick."

"I love you too Kate," Castle replied, bending his head so he could kiss her. They did that for a while before they slowly parted, and he pressed his forehead to hers before they laid down fully again. He held his wife close, unable to help recalling earlier when they were with their two oldest daughters still at Coney Island. He knew Beckett was too and he fell asleep thinking of the memory, eager for the next day and getting to spend time with their daughters again.

* * *

 _"Try to throw that a little harder," Beckett said, handing Eliza another of the skeeball balls._

 _"I'm too little," the little girl said with a smile. She handed it to her mother and said, "You throw, you throw the best for this Mommy."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said with a playful sigh as Julia had done the same with her on her turn. She started to roll the skeeball up the ramp, managing to get a forty before she got a fifty and then two more forties._

 _"Yay!" Eliza cried as she took the tickets her father ripped off from the machine._

 _"Why don't we play something else now?" Beckett said._

 _"You pick," Julia told her mother. When she looked like she was going to protest she quickly said, "We picked this, it's your turn."_

 _Beckett smiled and took her oldest's hand, pulling her over to the car racing games together. She wasn't surprised when Eliza briefly squealed at the sight of them and she asked, "Who're you going to race with?"_

 _"You Daddy," Eliza said, smiling at him. She went with him to one of the consoles and waited for him to get up on the seat before she let him pick her up. "Are we gonna win?"_

 _"Well, since we don't need to get tickets let's just drive for fun," Castle told her after he'd slid his card and handed it to Beckett next to him. He saw the way his wife was looking at him and said, "What? You don't want them to compete that much."_

 _"I didn't say anything," she replied in amusement. Beckett slid the card on her console before she did the same with Julia's next to her. "Are you ready?"_

 _"Yep," the girl replied. Julia grabbed the steering wheel in front of her to choose her car, quickly picking the blue one before anyone else could and she smiled at her parents and sister. She let her little sister choose the course before she prepared for the start of the race. She stared at the screen in front of her and kept her eyes on it, not wanting to break her concentration so she could do well as the game soon began._

 _"Good job," Beckett said once the race was over._

 _Looking at the screen in surprise Julia saw that she had come in fourth and she smiled at her mother as she tended to be towards the end of the race. "Wow… I guess that's why you have to watch when you drive," she said as she got up._

 _"You do," Beckett replied, reaching for her to put her arm around her. "And now it's your turn to pick love."_

 _Castle; since his wife had been talking to him; looked around them for a minute and gasped in mock eagerness saying, "Zombies!"_

 _"There's a zombie game?" Julia asked her mother in surprise._

 _"I guess so," Beckett said before they were following Castle over to a game that had a lot of neon green on it. "Really?" she asked him once they were with him and Eliza._

 _"Just once," he replied, watching the little girl who was looking around the game._

 _"What do you do?" Eliza asked._

 _"We need to knock that over to get the number of tickets it says," Castle explained to her._

 _"You're gonna do it right Daddy?" Eliza asked him._

 _"I will," Castle assured her._

 _"Don't look at me, go ahead," Beckett said since her husband had glanced at her._

 _Castle laughed briefly before he turned his attention to the game and swiped the card, leaning down to see when he could try for the pod with 50 tickets on the top. He tried his best to time but he missed that pod and instead hit the one with 20. A little startled when the girls started to cheer he smiled at them and said, "I was trying to get the other one."_

 _"That's still a lot," Beckett pointed out to him. She watched their daughters hugging him and said with a smile, "They seem to agree."_

 _"I know," Castle said with a laugh. "So now," he told them after getting the tickets. "You can pick again Eliza."_

 _"Wait," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "You wanted to get them a snack, right?"_

 _"I did," Castle replied, looking at his own watch. "I guess we need to hold on for a second."_

 _"What can we get?" Julia asked eagerly._

 _"I had something in mind," Castle said, taking them out to a stall._

 _"Ice cream?" Eliza asked. "Dots ice cream?"_

 _"Exactly," Castle said._

 _"They're going to be small," Beckett said. "But for now, look at the flavors to pick out what you want." She watched with her husband as Julia was reading the flavors for her sister and she wasn't surprised when shortly after she finished the two turned right around to them. She was about to tell her husband; jokingly; what flavors they wanted when Julia interrupted her to her surprise._

 _"We want the banana split," the girl said._

 _"Me too," Castle said._

 _"I'll get the same," Beckett said in amusement. She watched Castle ordering before she took her cup and went with her family over to some tables nearby. She wasn't surprised when; once they were sitting; Eliza came over to her and she pulled her onto her lap before she ate her ice cream._

 _"Will we still get to play afterwards?" Julia asked eventually._

 _"We do have some more time," Castle replied, looking at his wife._

 _"We can," Beckett said with a nod. "But we don't have that much left."_

 _"Should we just try to get tickets?" Julia asked her little sister._

 _"I think so," Eliza said with a firm nod. "So, the slide games?"_

 _"I think so," Castle said since both girls were looking at him and Beckett._

 _"Speaking of tickets are we ready to go?" she asked since she saw the girls had finished their ice cream._

 _"Yeah," Julia said. When they were all standing up she asked, "Will you guys help us?"_

 _"Of course," Beckett said, picking up Eliza when the little girl started to tug on her hand. Settling her on her hip she said, "We can take turns with the two of you until we run out of credits."_

 _"Great," Julia said, taking her father's hand before they walked inside of the arcade again. When they reached the casino themed coin slider game she watched with Castle as Beckett slid the card and he got the coins for her at the section the two had picked as the best for her and her sister to play on. She smiled as Eliza took the first coin very seriously before their mother told her to drop it. She clapped when a couple slid off the side and then waited to see what her sister would get with the rest of the coins._

 _"Did I get a lot?" Eliza asked her mother when she had finished._

 _"You did," Beckett said, setting her down so she could see._

 _"Look Jules," Eliza said eagerly, holding them up._

 _"I know, you did good," Julia said with a smile at her sister before her father was giving her the coins for her turn. She started to play then, letting her father tell her when to drop the coins before she finished with many tickets herself._

 _"We better move," Castle told the two. "This one is out I think."_

 _"Which one?" Eliza asked, grabbing his hand as he started to walk around so she could go with him._

 _"I think this one," Castle said, finding the next best section._

 _"You and Mom can do it on your own now," Julia said quickly._

 _"Are you sure?" Beckett asked._

 _"Yeah," Eliza said. "We have to take turns."_

 _When his wife looked at him Castle said, "We teach them to take turns too."_

 _Beckett laughed and shook her head before she took the coins that her husband had gotten while they were talking. She started to play, knowing the girls were watching her though they tried to keep away from her to not pressure her. She wasn't surprised when they cheered for her and she hugged them before saying, "Hopefully you guys can get some good prizes."_

 _"Yeah," Julia said. "But we don't have to get big ones."_

 _"We're going to try and help you get good ones though," Castle said as he was standing with his coins. He started to drop them, doing his best to get to where there were coins ready to be pushed over the side. When he'd stopped he'd gotten many coins as well before he said, "Okay, we don't have too much left though. I think we can play about three more games on the skeeball."_

 _"About?" Beckett asked her husband in amusement._

 _"Three," Castle said, looking at her with his eyes playfully narrowed. "So, should we play that?"_

 _"What is it?" Beckett asked when Julia and Eliza looked at each other._

 _"You should do it Mom," the former said. "You're a much better thrower."_

 _"And we don't care, we want you to get good scores," Eliza added._

 _"Okay," Beckett said. "But only if you guys are sure," she told them. Once they nodded rapidly she took Julia's hand and with Castle taking Eliza they went together to the skeeball games again. She let her husband swipe the card and waited until the game was prepared before she reached down for the first ball. She knew her daughters were watching her but didn't think about that as she wanted to focus to get the best score she could for them, soon after tossing it. When she got to the left 100 she laughed as the girls were cheering outright for her and she turned to her husband when he preceded her telling him to go next verbally before she could utter a word._

 _"I think it's better you keep playing," Castle said. "But before I forget, there's something I wanted to do outside before we leave."_

 _"What?" Julia asked, watching him._

 _"You'll see," Castle replied, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Keep going though love."_

 _Beckett shook her head at him before she turned back to the game and rolled the next skeeball she had. When she had finished that game and the last two she said, "I think you got a lot of tickets," as they were watching Castle tear off the ones she'd gotten._

 _"We can go look now right?" Eliza asked._

 _"Come on," Beckett said, putting her hands on the girls' backs to lead them to the prize counter. She watched them watching eagerly as the employee behind the counter was weighing their tickets, and she was relieved when it was a high number. She thought the two might look at the counter below them to decide but watched the girls look up instead until she squeezed Julia's shoulder gently to get her attention before she turned rapidly to her._

 _"Do we have enough to get lava lamps?" the girl asked in a rush._

 _"One each?" Castle replied. When both girls nodded he smiled and said, "You do, with a little left over too."_

 _"I want the blue and purple one," Eliza said as she knew her parents wouldn't want her to point with all the people around them._

 _"Blue and green for me," Julia said, smiling as she and her sister had only talked about getting lava lamps and not the colors. Something came to her then and she asked, "What about Josa?"_

 _"Better wait until she's older so she can decide if she wants one herself," Beckett told her. "Plus, I don't think you have enough tickets."_

 _"They don't for that, but you do for something else," Castle said._

 _"What about those?" Eliza asked, pointing to the paddle balls._

 _"I want one too," Julia said in a rush._

 _Castle told the worker what the girls wanted and since they had only two tickets left over he took the bag and left with his wife and their daughters to head back outside. "Over here," he told them, leading his family to the balloon popping game. He handed the bag to Beckett and got three darts before he said, "_ Don't stop me _," in Irish._

 _"_ I don't think I can _," she replied in the same language. "_ But you don't _-" Beckett started to say._

 _Reaching over to her, Castle squeezed her arm gently to get her to stop before he turned his attention to the board of balloons, noticing which ones he needed for the bigger prizes. He threw the first and missed, tossed the second and got one balloon for the higher value prizes and the third managed to pop as well to his relief. "Go ahead and pick love," he told her._

 _After she had told the worker which of the glass artworks she wanted, Beckett turned to her husband to thank him when Eliza was grabbing her hand to talk to her._

 _"Do you like it Mommy?" the little girl asked._

 _"I do," Beckett said, looking over at her husband._

 _"I saw you looking at the prizes when we passed by," Castle explained._

 _"It is pretty," Julia commented, her mother's sculpture a small one of two lines of glass in blue and clear colors entwining._

 _"It is, thank you love," Beckett said, going over to him and kissing his cheek._

 _"You're welcome," Castle replied. He then smiled at her and said, "One more?"_

 _"Alright," Beckett said in slight confusion before he got the girls and pulled them with him over to the water game they'd seen before. "Who'll play with Eliza?"_

 _"I can play by myself," the little girl said firmly. When her mother looked at her she smiled widely and said, "I can Mommy, I'm a big girl remember?"_

 _"Okay," Beckett said. "You know what to do right?" When Eliza nodded she leaned down and kissed the top of her head while Castle was getting enough credits on their card so they could play._

 _"So, if only one of us wins, what about the prize?" Julia asked._

 _"Since there are four of us it's going to be a big prize," Beckett replied. "I hope you'll let your sister have it."_

 _"But it's bigger than she is!" Eliza exclaimed. She paused and then asked, "Can we put it in her crib?"_

 _"We'll see," Beckett said with a soft laugh at her change in reaction. "Your daddy's coming back," she said to them. "Let's get ready to play." After Castle was with them she and the girls joined him at the game, sitting at four spots before their credits were taken off the card. She was tempted to watch Eliza as the worker was speaking into the headset that he wore to announce their game, but the loud bell was ringing so she had to start trying for the target in front of her._

 _Hearing Eliza squealing next to him Castle hoped she wasn't having a difficult time before he suddenly heard the bell, looking up to see that Beckett had won. He smiled and then said, "Your turn to pick love."_

 _After asking for one of the large stuffed giraffes Beckett let her husband take it and said, "It'll remind her of her daddy."_

 _Narrowing his eyes playfully at her Castle said, "Good idea. Do we need to go?"_

 _"We do," Beckett said. She looked at their daughters with him as the two were groaning in disappointment. "We'll come back. But for now, you'll be going to your grandpapa's and swimming there."_

 _"I forgot," Julia admitted as her little sister gasped at the reminder._

 _"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Eliza squealed in joy, jumping up and down._

 _"We are right now," Castle assured them. He picked up the little girl and set her on his hip before they walked to Surf Avenue to catch a cab back to Manhattan. He felt his wife's hand slip into his and he squeezed it quickly, sharing a smile with her as their daughters were talking eagerly about showing Josie her new toys. He knew she was reluctant to leave as well, having had fun with the girls at the park, but he reminded himself they would have the next day to spend with their daughters all over again. And as Beckett whispered a reminder of that to him while he was trying to call to a cab he knew she was feeling as eager as he was for the next day already._


	26. Save One Night For Me

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was happy to see the feedback for the last chapter so will of course go straight into my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I was pleased to see that you were happy for Skye and Mary with them finding out they could adopt the twins. And that you thought it was a great moment too!),

Guest (It was nice to see the smile you had for the last chapter. And the thank you for the chapter was great to read too!),

MsNYC (Happy to see you thought they had a beautiful day at the zoo. And I had to laugh too as you mentioned Eliza and her desserts. Great too to see you can't wait for the wedding! As for your question about the Irish, if I'm understanding correctly you're asking why I write it in English in italics and then other times in straight Irish. If that's what your question was the reason is I don't like to write in straight Irish too much since it takes time to translate it and then type it out and slows me down. Not surprised you pointed out that Beckett always gets to pet the horses, lol, but since she's so good with them it would show and that's why she gets sent first, lol. Not surprised at all that you enjoyed the flashbacks there were in this one. And glad I could write Coney Island that well since I've never been! But you missing it; after not being for that long; reminds me of me right now about Disneyland, lol, I want to go back badly. And really pleased to see that you thought the family time was beautiful! And of course, I was glad that you thought it was great writing as usual!) and

Mb (It was nice to read first thing that you were smiling all the way through the chapters. And great you enjoyed where Eliza was waking up Beckett, her wondering why she needed to wake up and Eliza just pointing at Castle a hungry Josie coming in, lol. I'm glad you like them being at the loft in the city for Lanie and Dylan's wedding and then them making plans for the day. Great you loved how excited they were being together and going out. I'm not surprised you were laughing at Eliza asking Alexis about not being there at the loft with them and Alexis trying to distract them, lol, I thought that would happen when it was read. And I had expected readers to mention Skye and Mary trying to hurry the adoption. Not surprised you mentioned Eliza and desserts, lol, but I'm glad you think she's a perfect combination of Castle and Beckett. I wasn't surprised either that you see Josie as being the same and Julia being more like Beckett though she has taken more and more of Rick's personality since I could see that happening, lol. But great you thought it was a testament to the love they all share. Really happy you love their outings and that they're fun, sweet and happy. Not surprised you laughed at the amusement park since it reminded you of doing that too and going on all the rides. Nice to see you thought the first half was a sweet update. You're welcome for it too! Happy to read you thought the second half was a sweet chapter. I'm glad that you're happy that Skye and Mary got custody of the twins and will be able to take them back to California and then being able to adopt them eventually. And yeah, the twins will be going on the Orlando/D.C. trip, lol, don't worry, though I'm not surprised you can't remember since there are so many of them going you're right. I wasn't surprised you think the spa day will be fun or that you mentioned possible stories. And yeah, with an outsider the others would be tamer with theirs. Oh, and I wasn't surprised either you mentioned they'll need a girl's night out. Great to see you mention that Castle and Beckett are really addicted to each other but in a good way since that's how I see it being for them! Happy that you loved the flashback of them at Cone Island and how much fun they had on those rides and at the arcade too. And I was really pleased that you loved Julia and Eliza thinking of Josie when they got prizes too, siblings can be like that, so I had to include it. Great you thought it was fantastic, amazing and so sweet! You're very welcome for the second half!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading all of them and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Rattled_ by the Traveling Wilburys, from the album _The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1_.

Save One Night For Me

"So you have everything," Beckett said, looking inside the bag that was by the door. "Diapers, a couple extra changes of clothing and the towels of course. Don't forget bot-" she began to say.

Taking her hand with his free one Castle stopped her before he said, "You don't need to worry love, I know what Josie will need."

"I'm just double checking," Beckett confessed.

"I know, but it's set," Castle assured her. "We'll be fine."

"Alright," Beckett said, setting her purse down on the table next to Josie's bag. She took the baby from her husband and cradled her telling her, "Behave for your daddy and sisters too, they'll take care of you." She brushed her lips against her forehead and then told her, "I love you sweetie and I'll see you after lunch." She hugged Josie gently and then handed her to Castle saying, "I might call you when I'm on my way over."

"Don't rush over," he told his wife with a smile.

"I'm just having lunch with Skye," Beckett reminded him. "I'm sure she'll head back to her wife and kids too."

Castle nodded; as Lanie was having a lunch with her parents and fiancé after their time at the spa; but said, "Still, have fun with Skye."

"I'm sure I will," Beckett replied. She then reached over to him, wrapping her arm around his neck to they could kiss. She wasn't surprised when her husband made it deep immediately and she was quick to respond. Lingering with him, she found her lips were throbbing a little when they parted and said, "Have fun with them; tell them I love them."

"Of course," Castle assured her. He kissed her again but kept that quick before he told her, "Have fun."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile. She brushed her lips to the top of Josie's head and then went to her husband, sharing a quick kiss on the lips before she got her purse again and walked out the door. She slung the bag over her shoulder, walking to the elevator and glancing back at the loft, wondering how her husband would do on his own with their daughters. Before she could dwell too much on that the doors were opening, and she stepped into the car as she didn't want to make Lanie wait. She checked her phone on the way down to the lobby, relieved there weren't any calls from her friend before she hurried out to the street.

Once she reached the cab that was there to pick her up Beckett hopped in the back, watching the streets they were passing until they got to the spa and she could see Lanie was standing outside the building already. With a smile she stepped out, going to her friend and embracing her before they parted, and she was just going to tease the bride about the big day the next day when they heard a voice to her left calling out to them both, making them turn around to see who it was.

"Good morning," Skye called when she was close to the two women. With a smile, she hugged Lanie first saying, "And how is the bride on the wedding's eve?"

"She's fine," the doctor said, trying not to smile too much at how the woman had worded that. She watched Beckett and Skye exchange a hug before they turned to her and she said, "Jasmine is going to be a little late, so we should go inside to wait for her."

"What about you?" Beckett asked as they went in. When her friend looked at her she smiled and said, "Morning sickness?"

"I drink a lot of ginger tea," Lanie answered as they sat in the chairs by the reception desk. "It's not stopping it but it's easing it up for me."

"You'll be alright tomorrow morning?" Skye asked.

"I will, it's not until eleven so by then I'll be better," Lanie replied. She wasn't surprised when the two suddenly spoke at the same time and she watched them look at each other, wondering who'd speak first.

"How's Dylan?" Beckett finally said.

"He's nervous," Lanie admitted. "He's never been in a relationship that went this far."

"He's younger than you, isn't he?" Skye asked. "Or is that none of my bloody business?"

"It's alright, he is, just seven months though," Lanie replied. "But our birth years are one apart."

"He adores you though," Skye commented.

"He does, it's not hard to tell," Beckett added.

"Thanks," Lanie said absently. "Jasmine's here," she told the two as she stood.

Watching Lanie greet the woman who literally blew in through the door, Beckett smiled as her friend had told her about her assistant and she'd been interested in meeting her. She was a little startled when the woman suddenly turned to her and she said, "I'm-"

"Kate Beckett, Lanie told me about you," the woman replied. "The de facto maid of honor."

"Not really," Beckett said with a smile, shaking her hand. "But I'm glad to meet you, Lanie's told me about you as well."

"This is Jasmine Arendse," Lanie said. "You didn't let me tell them," she told her. "And we have an added guest with us, this is…"

"Skye McDouglas," she said herself, shaking Jasmine's hand. "Really my name's Rose but I prefer Skye. I hope you don't mind."

"No, I've heard of you before," Jasmine told her. "You landed that plane at JFK."

"I did," Skye said with a slight smile. "I'm also Kate's friend."

The receptionist called Lanie's name then and the four women went over to check themselves in and were led back to the changing rooms.

"What exactly are we doing?" Skye asked Beckett once they'd stepped out of the changing rooms in robes.

"I'm not sure in what order but Lanie ordered a full package," she replied.

"Really?" Skye asked.

"Do you mind?" Beckett said.

"No," Skye said quickly since Lanie and Jasmine were joining them. "Just a surprise, is lunch part of the package?"

"It is but I'm heading out to lunch with my parents and Jasmine's going back to her husband and kids," Lanie replied. "So, it's just you two… unless you don't want it?"

"I'm letting Rick eat with our girls," Beckett said.

"Same for me with Mary," Skye replied. "My wife," she added quickly for Jasmine's benefit.

"We should get started," Lanie said. "I would hate to hear my mother if my fiancé was waiting there at the restaurant with them for me."

"I never asked, what's Dylan doing?" Jasmine said.

"He's going out tonight at a bar with his friends," Lanie replied.

"Strip… bar?" Skye asked.

"No, he promised he wouldn't," Lanie said with a laugh. "Although I told him if he wanted to, fine."

"Seriously?" Beckett asked.

"No and he read me like you just did," Lanie said, shaking her head. She then smiled and said, "But yeah, they're just going to a bar… no it's a pub. I forgot it's a British one he likes." She was speaking rapidly, as another employee was coming over to them with some papers on her arm.

"Good morning," the woman said with a smile. "We have you down for a full selection, I have our treatments here so if you'd like to pick out now you can just mark these cards with what you'd like to do."

Taking a look at what was essentially a 'menu,' Beckett murmured to Skye, "What're you going to do?"

"Massage definitely but I never liked saunas," the investigator said reading over the items. "And I suppose I should try this… floral facial?"

"We crush up flowers of your choice into a cream and it's basically a regular facial with that added," the worker said quickly.

"That, do you have freesia flowers?" Skye asked. When the woman nodded she said, "I'll take those."

"Are you guys going to get their mani-pedis too?" Lanie asked them all.

"I will," Jasmine said quickly.

"So will I," Beckett replied before she looked at Skye.

"I will," the investigator said with a smile as the other two women were looking at her as well. "Just clear coat though."

After the women had handed her their papers, the worker said, "Thank you, the hot tub and _onsen_ is this way."

"You have an _onsen_?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"We do," the woman replied. "That's for any woman who wishes to bathe nude."

"I'll go in," Skye said.

"Me too," Beckett said. When her friends and Jasmine looked at her she shrugged and said, "They do that in Japan though we didn't since they were just for women."

"That's why I'm going," Skye said before they came to two doors that were closed across from each other.

"Are you coming with us?" Beckett asked Lanie and Jasmine.

"We'll be in here," the former said.

"We'll see you after the facials?" Skye asked. When Lanie nodded she frowned and said, "Aren't we supposed to be spending this time with you?"

"It's alright, I thought we might do different things," Lanie told them. "That's why I was asking about the mani-pedis."

"We'll see you then," Skye said, looking at her friend.

With a nod Beckett followed Skye inside the room on the right and she said, "Are we crazy for doing this?"

"Not really, we did this before," Skye said before she went over to one of the curtained changing stalls.

"That was a long time ago," Beckett pointed out. "And I mean that literally."

"True but still," Skye said simply. "I'm going in first."

"Alright," Beckett said, hearing water splashing and knowing her friend was cleaning off her body first. She finished with her bikini by the time Skye finished and called out to her friend, "I'm stepping out."

"My eyes are closed," Skye replied.

Walking out Beckett couldn't help smiling at the way Skye was covering her eyes as well and she said, "I trust you."

"Oh sure, but just to let you know I'm serious," the investigator said, hearing water running a second later. She waited for a little longer and then heard Beckett entering the water and when her friend told her she could open her eyes she pulled her hands away. "Ah, too bright," she said jokingly. She then laughed and said, "What do you think?"

"What, doing this naked?" Beckett asked. When her friend nodded she laughed and said, "It's interesting but don't take it personally if I say I'd rather be doing this with my husband."

"I'm not, I'd rather be doing this with Mary," Skye said before they both laughed. She ducked under the water before she popped back up, about to tell her friend about something she had thought of when Beckett was speaking first.

"Are you thinking the same I am?" she asked.

"Glad that the water's opaque? I am," Skye said with a laugh and a nod. "Though have you ever been around women… like in a gym?"

"I have but you expect it and it's usually fast," Beckett replied. "Should I tell Julia about this?"

"Not really," Skye said. When her friend looked at her in confusion she said, "It doesn't matter one way or another since we're not together."

"True," Beckett said as she realized what she meant. "And she's experienced this already."

"True though less ease in the situation than we're having," Skye replied. She glanced around and then said, "Are you going to tell your husband?"

"He wouldn't think of this in a sexual way," Beckett was swift to say as she knew what Skye meant with the question. "Well… he'd think of me I should say."

"Good to know," the investigator replied. "Don't know of any spas that allow couples to do this though."

"Have you done it with Mary?" Beckett said. She was startled at the way the woman flushed slightly before she smiled and wasn't surprised when she got a simple shake of the investigator's head. She was going to apologize when Skye held up her hand to stop her, though she'd done that before she'd had the chance to open her mouth.

"How long are we supposed to do this?" Skye asked her.

"I think it said fifteen minutes," Beckett said.

"That explains that clock," Skye pointing to it. She then realized that she could feel cool air on her chest and said, "Are you looking?"

"No way," Beckett said before she heard the slight splash of water. Looking at her friend she smiled seeing that Skye was up to her chin in the water. "You know if you come with us to Europe we should go to a nudist beach," she said teasingly.

"Sure, why not," the investigator said as she stood up a little more. "A bit odd since we're both women but my body belongs to my wife."

"I'm getting the feeling we shouldn't have come out here," Beckett said. "If we're this shy."

"Alright, then tell you what. We're adults and married to other people and not attracted to each other," Skye said. "So with that, twenty bucks you won't step out of the pool at the same time as me. Sister."

Beckett narrowed her eyes playfully at her before saying, "Then if we do step out at the same time you guys come back and stay at our home until we leave for Florida."

"I was planning on… I mean we were hoping you'd let us do that already," Skye said laughingly. "You've got a deal but no staring or hugging."

"Why the hell would we do that?" Beckett asked. She studied her friend and said, "You're thinking of Mary, aren't you?"

"Tell me you're not thinking of Rick," Skye shot back before they smiled at each other. She glanced at the clock again and said, "Alright then, twenty bucks or longer stay for the McDouglas clan in the Hamptons."

"Longer stay," Beckett said firmly before she climbed out of the pool first.

"I think you're right," Skye said before she got out as well. "I'm not staring but I'll say this; we seem to have similar body shapes."

Nodding, as she'd noticed it too, Beckett took her towel from one of the chairs by the pool and wrapped it around herself tightly. "I'm sure you're trying to say we're still sisters; twins."

Shaking her head, wrapped up in her towel, Skye told her, "No but it's odd that there are similarities between us as they are. But we should get going, shouldn't make the bride wait."

"Good point," Beckett said with a smile before they ducked into the changing stalls again. She threw on her robe and said, "I feel like my bikini was pointless."

"Well… you're not planning to be naked during the facial or mani-pedis and everything else, are you?" Skye asked as they met outside again.

"Another good point," Beckett told her before they laughed together. "Oh… the massages."

"You're going with Lanie?" Skye asked.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I talked to Lanie and she wants to catch up with Jasmine; she went out of town with her family for the 4th and she hasn't seen her for a while."

"How many kids does she have?" Skye asked.

"Two sets of twins," Beckett replied with a smile. "A boy and a girl twice."

"Ah, I've two as well… will have to let her know," Skye said before they stepped out to find the worker from before standing there.

Led to another room on the second floor, Beckett looked around once they were inside and she saw two tables there. "Are the other two we were with in their massage room?"

"They are, they said they'll see you after because they're across the hall," the worker said.

With the door closed Beckett and Skye turned their attention to the two women who were waiting for them and they took off their towels before getting onto the tables. They were both quiet during their massages, taking the time to get some rest before they were getting off the tables again.

In a separate room for her facial, Beckett couldn't help thinking of her family, hoping they were having fun without her. She also thought of her husband, hoping he wouldn't be too stressed out as she was fully relaxed herself by then smelling the rose crème that was being rubbed across her face. She was a little loathe to get up when the woman that had been working on her was finished. But she thanked the employee before she got up and put her robe on over her bikini and stepped outside to find that the other women were there already. "You look relaxed," she said to her friend.

"Which is why I suggested this," Lanie said with a smile. "But are you missing your guys' families?" she asked all three women.

"Definitely," Jasmine said, the other two nodding their heads in agreement to her.

"Okay, let's get to the mani-pedis," Lanie said before the worker was leading them through the building again.

After they were on the top floor, which looked a lot like a nail salon, Beckett sat to Lanie's left while Skye sat to her own left. With their feet soaking in hot water she said, "You don't want to go to a club yourself?"

"No, I'm surprised you asked," Lanie said. She looked at Jasmine and said, "If you see Castle and Kate together tomorrow you'll see why it's weird she said that."

"I'm just seeing if you wanted to go to that," Beckett said.

"I'm going to be a mother," Lanie said in mock indignation before she was laughing with the others. "And you're all mothers."

"I wouldn't be going with you," Skye said quickly. "I'd be heading back home."

"Not to that strip club with the men?" Jasmine asked.

Shaking her head Skye said, "I prefer my own wife."

"Stripping?" Lanie said.

"No," Skye said firmly. They laughed again and before she turned her attention to the woman in front of her who was having her take her feet out of the water. The other women were doing the same and she said, "Even though we haven't been together the whole time this has been fun."

"It has," Beckett said, hearing Lanie and Jasmine agreeing too. "We should try to do this again, maybe just mani-pedis though so we can talk."

"And have that lunch," Jasmine said.

The women agreed, and they promised to meet the next time they were in the city; though Skye would likely not be there. When their feet and hands were finished they went back to the first changing rooms before meeting together outside of them before Beckett and Skye were saying goodbye to Lanie and Jasmine.

"That went so fast," Beckett was telling Lanie as they embraced, having said goodbye first to Jasmine as she'd hurried to her apartment. "You didn't want to do this after lunch?"

"It would have been the same amount of time," the doctor said in amusement. "And I'm spending time with Dylan after lunch."

"And your parents?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"They want to rest in their hotel room," Lanie replied easily. "But we'll do this again."

"I hope," Beckett replied. She hugged her tightly a second time and said, "We'll see you at dinner?"

"You will," Lanie said. She waved at Skye; who she'd already said goodbye to; and walked out, not realizing the two women were watching her go as she got into a cab shortly after.

"She'll be quite tired," Skye commented.

Beckett smiled and said, "Try telling her that."

" _So, all that's true then_?" Skye asked in Irish as they went over to the café that was park of the spa.

" _For me it was_ ," Beckett replied with a nod. After giving Lanie's name they were led to a table and they ordered quickly before she said, " _You want to get back too_?"

" _Of course, I have two new kids_ ," Skye said.

" _How're they doing_?" Beckett asked.

" _Before I answer_ ," Skye said, pausing right after as their drinks were served to them. "Lanie _at least didn't ask me about them_?" she finally said.

" _I don't think she really wanted to with_ Jasmine _here_ ," Beckett replied. She took a sip of her cucumber and melon drink and said, " _She's not part of our group; at least she wasn't at my house last week_."

" _True_ ," Skye said thoughtfully. " _Well_ Ivy _and_ Iris _are fine, they're having nightmares still but they haven't woken up screaming from them as they were that first time and having less of them_."

" _Are they still staying with you_?" Beckett asked.

Shaking her head Skye said, " _They're with their sisters._ Marie _,_ Kath _and_ Fleur _are fantastic with them as they've all had something traumatic happen to them_."

"Marie _and_ Kath?" Beckett said in surprise.

"Aye _, they saw me bringing the plane into JFK too remember_ ," Skye said. " _They know I can fly planes, so it scares them_."

Beckett nodded and then said, " _I know what you mean_." She thought for a moment about the question she'd wanted to initially ask her friend but had hesitated on before she finally said, " _Have they asked you about calling them_ mom _or_ mum?"

" _No, I don't think they want to consider it yet_ ," Skye said. She smiled slightly when her friend nodded in agreement and knew she was serious in her understanding. They were quiet for a time before she sighed, jumping a little when Beckett spoke to her surprise.

" _You- sorry_ ," she said with a slight smile on her face. " _You don't mind that_?"

" _It's understandable_ ," Skye replied firmly. " _I didn't start out calling my_ dad _that_ ," she added. " _It took me a year before I felt like he was actually my_ dad."

" _But you want them to call you that_ ," Beckett stated.

" _Yes, but that's their own decision_ ," Skye replied. She watched their waitress come over with their food and after they were alone again she said, " _And your girls_?"

" _They're good, I'm sure they're having a blast with their_ dad," Beckett said. She paused with her fork a little off the plate before she said, " _Not so much_ Josie _but you get the idea_."

" _I did_ ," Skye replied with a slight laugh. " _Do you think_ ," she said slowly. " _That_ Patrick _,_ Mary _and I had five kids back then_?"

" _You did_ ," Beckett said almost before her friend could finish speaking.

" _All adopted_ …" Skye mused.

" _You think someone said something about that_?" Beckett asked.

Shaking her head Skye said, " _No, I think the idea was that I couldn't have children. And in those days you didn't talk about that in polite society_."

" _Good thing_ ," Beckett commented.

" _I know_ ," Skye said. " _So, we're talking about the kids_?"

" _I think we are_ ," Beckett replied, smiling, before they turned their attention back to their food. They discussed all of their children while they were eating before they touched on their vacation. " _You know, you don't have to stay with us again if you want to go home_ ," she said, studying her friend to see her reaction.

" _We were talking about that_ ," Skye breathed out. " _I made a call and I can get us tickets for tomorrow evening. You're heading over to the_ Hamptons _after the lunch, aren't you_?"

" _Technically it's a reception_ ," Beckett said with a slight smile.

" _Well,_ Mary _and I continued to talk and we then said that we should stay here since it's the same time zone and we want the two to slowly move over to_ California," Skye explained. " _Go down to the amusement parks and then up to_ DC _and the museums and fun stuff to do there before heading out to their new home. Plus, we want them to stay with all the kids in the_ Hamptons _, they're looking at your girls and the others as friends already. So, you don't mind us staying for another week_?"

" _No_ ," Beckett said swiftly.

" _That quick_?" Skye asked with a smile.

" _That quick; I did say that as my wager remember_ ," Beckett replied before they were laughing together again. " _Should I tell my husband about after the bath_?"

" _I'll be telling_ Mary," Skye said.

" _You're sure she wouldn't mind_?" Beckett asked.

" _No_ ," Skye said. " _Especially since we just jumped right into our towels_."

"Okay," Beckett said as she finished the last of her drink. "Talking about our kids and spouses is driving me insane."

"I agree, let's go," Skye said before they left a tip and then got up. They walked out to the street and she said, "Thank you for letting us stay."

"It's not a problem; we're staying with you after all," Beckett replied. "Have you told Ivy and Iris about the show?"

"We did, so they're happy you guys will join us soon," Skye said. "But they've never seen the show so Mary and I are slowly going through it."

"Have you showed them Derek?" Beckett asked.

"We started with the seasons he's won but I never told him that he's my partner," Skye replied. "They just think we're watching because we love him, and Julia does too."

"Good thing there are other dancers in the seasons," Beckett said jokingly.

"I know, so we'll see you at the wedding and we'll have our things in the cars," Skye told her.

"You should return a car," Beckett said.

Shaking her head Skye said, "We want to be with them as much as possible."

"Alright, have a nice time with them now," Beckett told her friend with a smile.

"And you with your family," Skye said.

With a final goodbye Beckett called a cab while her friend did so a little down the street from her. She was relieved when a taxi stopped quickly for her and she waved at Skye before getting in. When the car was pulling away from the curb once she'd given her father's old apartment building address to the driver, she closed the partition and leaned back against the seat. She tried to imagine what her husband and their daughters were doing at that moment but since it wasn't that easy she focused her attention on where they were, waiting to see they were getting close so she could finally get back to her family.

* * *

"What are we gonna do for dinner?" Eliza asked her father.

"We just finished lunch and you want to know about dinner?" Castle asked her jokingly. He smiled when she wrinkled her nose and said, "You and your sister can go in the water, walk around for a little."

"Are you gonna burp Josa too?" Eliza asked.

"I am," Castle replied. "Go," he told his daughters.

Julia, having been standing with her little sister to watch their father feed Josie with a bottle, asked, "We will but is she okay doing that too? She doesn't miss Mom?"

"I think she's fine with it," Castle said. He saw the uncertain look on his daughter's face and said, "This isn't formula."

"Oh, okay," Julia said. "Will you come in?"

"I will but I'm going to have to stay on the stairs, your sister will be taking her nap after this I think," Castle replied.

"I can hold her," Eliza said eagerly.

"I don't think we can do that," Castle replied, smiling at her enthusiasm. "If we move her around too much she'll wake up."

"Come on," Julia said to her sister, reaching for her hand so they could go over to the pool. They stepped down into the water together and they walked straight to the side where their father was at. "Is Mom coming soon?" she asked, spotting him turning towards the door to the pool and knowing he was looking for Beckett.

"I'm not sure," Castle said quickly. "She said it wasn't going to take that long but remember she's having lunch with Skye."

"What about Ivy and Iris?" Julia asked. "When will we see them?"

As he was taking the bottle and setting it on the table he was sitting next to Castle couldn't answer that right away. He waited until he had Josie against his shoulder telling Julia, "You probably won't until tomorrow at the wedding." He smiled at her and then asked, "You liked playing with them?"

"Yeah," Julia said with a nod. "Are we still going home after?"

"After the reception, yes," Castle told her. "You miss Mari?"

"I'm gonna miss her more, they're going sailing remember?" Julia asked.

"I know, but not until Monday," Castle replied as the Fosters were taking their ship up the coast of the state for three days before they left for the trip.

"Only one day," Julia replied.

"Go ahead and swim now," Castle said while standing as he felt Josie was finished and he could walk around until she fell asleep. He did so, glancing every so often at the door, before he could tell the baby was sleeping. Sitting on the outside of the pool he placed his feet on the top step and watched the girls as they began to swim around in front of him. "Where are you going?" he asked Julia with a smile as she got out next to him eventually.

"Gonna get the noodles," the girl replied.

"Cool, a lightsaber fight," Castle said exaggeratedly.

"No Daddy," Eliza said, coming up the steps to stand next to him. "We're gonna go around."

"Oh, well that's cool too," Castle replied. "But don't go past the 5s on the sides okay?"

"We won't," Julia said, throwing the two pool noodles they'd brought from home into the water. She kissed the top of her father's head in passing before she saw her sister was doing the same.

"Thank you, girls," Castle said with a smile before they were jumping into the water carefully together. He looked down at Josie then, seeing her moving before her mouth was opening a bit. He rocked her carefully and couldn't stop himself, leaning over and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"What if you wake her up?" Eliza asked, she and her sister swimming close to the steps on the noodles.

"I just put her back to sleep," Castle replied easily. He saw the look on Julia's face and said, "What're you thinking sweetheart?"

"How come you didn't call us _ceann beag_ before?" Julia asked.

"Because I didn't know Irish well enough until after Eliza was born," Castle said. "Do you want me to call you that instead of sweetheart?"

"What is that in Irish?" Eliza said.

" _Báire_ ," Castle said quickly.

"I like sweetheart better," Julia said, she and her sister looking at each other.

Nodding Eliza said, "So _ceann beag_ can be for special oc…oc…"

"Occasions," Castle said. "And that's fine with me." He was startled when the girls looked at him, then gasped and were pushing their noodles away before hurrying past him on the steps. He got up but had to go slowly before he could finally turn around and see what they'd seen. He started to speak when his wife was quick to do so, cutting him off on his first syllable which he didn't mind in the slightest as he was happy to hear her as well as see her.

"I'm not too late, am I?" Beckett asked as she picked Eliza up.

"No, we still have two hours until their grandparents want them to get back to the apartment to meet them," Castle said, looking at his watch. He stepped out of the pool and went over to his wife, watching her lean over Josie to check on her. "She hasn't been asleep for too long."

"I figured," Beckett said with a smile. She straightened up and looked at her husband before she cupped his cheek with her hand and leaned into him. Since Josie was in between and she was carrying Eliza they couldn't really kiss for that long but she didn't mind, murmuring to him in Irish, " _Níos déanaí_."

Nodding rapidly at her saying later Castle said, " _Geallaim_ ," which meant he promised.

Beckett smiled again before she set Eliza down and said, "I need to start swimming."

"Did you get to do that at the spa?" Julia asked.

Seeing his wife pause Castle said, "What is it?"

"I wasn't going to tell all of you this," Beckett said, speaking to her husband though she was looking at Julia. "But they had an _onsen_ where we went; a hot tub where you can go into the water naked if you want," she explained, waiting for their reactions and startled when Eliza spoke first.

"Was that fun?" the little girl asked. "That's like the baths we got to go in, in Japan," she told her sister.

"It is, that's the name of the public ones, right?" Julia asked her mother.

Beckett nodded, looking at her husband as he was carefully setting Josie into her carrier before turning to her.

"You all went?" Castle asked.

"Just me and Skye," Beckett said.

"That's fine," Castle said as he'd noticed the girls were watching him in obvious concern. He smiled and told them, "Since they're sisters and everything."

"Oh yeah," Julia said.

"Rick," Beckett said quickly. "We-"

"Not now obviously but you're as close as you were back then," Castle said.

"Yeah and…" Julia said before she abruptly trailed off and started to blush deeply.

"You're not attracted to each other," Castle commented as he and Beckett were studying their oldest.

"No," Beckett said, wrapping her arm around Julia's shoulders and hugging her close. "And we weren't there for long either. So, what about that pool?"

"What about Josa?" Eliza asked, not sure what they'd been talking about but ready to go swimming again.

"I'll stay with her," Castle said.

"At some point I'll take her so you can swim with them," Beckett told him.

"And we can watch her too," Eliza said eagerly.

"Come on," Beckett told the two, taking them over to the pool. She was about to go into the water when she saw the girls were looking behind them with smiles on their faces before she turned around herself to see what had gotten their attention.

"I'll sit with her," Castle said as he'd brought Josie's carrier with him.

"I know, but I was serious about watching her for you," Beckett said.

"Us too," Julia said with a smile.

"Come on," Beckett said, tugging gently on Eliza's hand so they could step down into the water. When she was in she raised her feet off the bottom and watched the little girl coming after her. "Want to swim to the deep end?"

"Yeah!" both girls said enthusiastically.

"I didn't let them do that," Castle said.

"Thank you," Beckett replied. "Alright we can go, just swim on either side of me." She waited for Julia to go to her left and they made their way together to the other side of the pool until they came to the edge and held onto it together. "Has anyone been in here?"

"Not really, there was a lady but I think she was hoping Dad was alone," Julia said. She smiled when her mother looked at her in confusion and then explained, "He needed to feed Josa."

"Oh," Beckett replied. She glanced over her shoulder at her husband and then told her daughters, "Let me duck underneath for a minute."

"What about what she did?" Eliza asked her sister.

Julia smiled and shook her head saying, "She doesn't care," before they looked down to watch their mother coming back up towards them.

Castle, watching the three at the other end, breathed out a little hard as he looked on while Beckett came out of the water. He glanced over at Josie for a distraction and was startled to see that the baby was awake, looking at him. "You probably should have slept longer Josie," he said, reaching into the carrier and picking her up.

"She's awake?" Beckett asked as she and the girls had swum over to him while he'd been looking at the baby.

"Yeah, should I get her back to sleep?" Castle asked, standing up on the top step.

"No," Beckett replied, stepping up to him. She took the baby; since Josie was wearing her bathing suit; and hugged her gently before she said, "She doesn't want to anymore. You said you fed her before she went to sleep?"

"She didn't take too long to fall asleep," Castle replied as he nodded at the same time.

"Then she just wanted a cat nap," Beckett replied, smiling at Josie who was smiling at her.

"Mommy can we play?" Eliza asked after watching her parents for a moment.

"Yes, but your daddy is going to play with you," Beckett replied.

"What will we play?" Castle asked as Eliza climbed up the stairs.

"With the ball," Julia said as she watched her sister with their parents.

"Don't throw that in Eliza," Beckett called to her.

"I won't," the little girl said, carrying it under her arm. She went to the baby and said, "We're gonna throw the ball to each other but we won't splash you." Eliza smiled as Josie tried to put her hand into her mouth and she then said, "I won't."

"Go and play," Beckett said. She glanced at her husband as he followed her in sitting on the top step and said, "You don't want to play with them?"

"You can stay there Dad," Julia said after she had come to the top of the steps. She threw the bouncy ball into the water; away from her little sister; and then hugged her mother carefully saying, "He missed you too."

After Julia had gone into the water Beckett studied her husband and said, " _I don't even need to ask do I_?" in Irish.

" _Not really_ ," Castle replied. " _They did too_."

" _Why are you deflecting_?" Beckett asked though they were watching the girls by then.

" _I'm not really_ ," Castle said. " _It just makes me sound hopeless_."

" _You've been for a while_ ," Beckett said in amusement. " _And do you really mind that much_?"

Pretending to think that over Castle said, " _I guess I shouldn't_." He laughed when his wife pushed him slightly and he looked down at Josie once he'd straightened up. "Do you want to hold her against you?" he asked in English.

"Yes," Beckett said. She moved the baby so her back was against her chest, Castle watching to help her if she needed it. "You should go in with them after they finish."

"They did," Castle said in amusement since their oldest daughters were dancing around in a circle together before ducking under the water, their bouncy ball long since forgotten. "I'm going in," he said, leaning over. He pressed a kiss to Josie's forehead and then sat up so he could kiss his wife, doing so deeply though he knew Julia and Eliza would see that. " _Chaill mé leat i ndáiríe_ ," he murmured into her ear after they'd parted, telling her he really did miss her.

" _Rinne mé freisin_ ," Beckett answered swiftly, saying she did too. She shared a last kiss with him and watched him go to the girls, not too surprised when Julia swam back over to her. "Tired sweetie?" she asked her.

"Not really, I wanted to spend time with you too," Julia explained as she sat next to her mother on the step. She smiled and said, "Are you excited for the dinner?"

"I am, we've never really spent time alone with your aunt and Dylan for so long yet," Beckett answered. "But what about you guys?"

"I asked Grandpapa and Gram if we could go to _Dave and Busters_ ," Julia said. "Last night. And they said you need to say if it's okay." She paused and looking thoughtful then asked, "It won't be too loud for Josa will it?"

"I don't think so," Beckett said after thinking herself. "But you need to go early before people start going to the bar out in the arcade."

"They will," Julia said.

Beckett tried not to laugh at how her oldest was looking so hopeful and she finally said, "I'm alright with it, just ask your dad when he's finished with your sister."

"Thanks Mom," Julia said quickly, wrapping her arms around her carefully and then going hurriedly to her father who was throwing Eliza out into the middle of the pool.

With a smile as she watched Castle dealing with both girls clamoring for him to throw them Beckett couldn't help wishing they could go to the restaurant with their family. But she remembered Lanie and the wedding the next day and she reminded herself they could go with the girls the next time they were in the city. But she wanted to see her friend on her last day as a single woman, and to spend time with the couple on the cusp of becoming husband and wife. She smiled as her family came over to her and she turned her attention back to them to spend the rest of their time left together to focus on her daughters before they needed to leave the pool for their evenings out.


	27. Save One Night For Me (Part 2)

"Here," Castle said to his wife, turning back to her.

"Thank you," Beckett replied as she stepped out of the cab they'd taken to the Greek taverna where Lanie and Dylan were meeting them for dinner. After they'd said goodnight to their daughters; making them promise to come to their building the next morning for breakfast and to play until the wedding; they'd headed back to the loft in a summer storm. It'd continued, and her husband was holding an umbrella for her as they'd walked out of the building and to the cab and then there at the restaurant. "They're not here yet," she said as they stood under the awning.

"She said go in?" Castle asked as he was shaking the water off the umbrella.

"Yeah, they won't seat us though," Beckett replied.

"Of course not, it's in his name," Castle replied, taking her hand so they could go inside. He set the umbrella by the door with others and looked around saying, " _Why this place_?" in Irish.

" _Their first date was here_ ," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband looked at her and told him, " _It didn't need to be fancy for her she said_."

Castle nodded before he heard the door opening behind them and turned with his wife to see their friends were there, making them both smile as he reluctantly let go of his wife's hand. "You're lucky they're set in it not raining tomorrow," he said to Dylan.

"Ah it's not that bad if it does," the man said, shaking Castle's hand. "I told Lanie some cultures they think it's a good omen."

"Luckily it's not going to," she said, glancing at her fiancé. She hugged Castle briefly and said, "Let's sit; I'm starving."

"Is that the pregnancy?" Dylan asked. He laughed when his fiancée smacked his chest behind her and he told the two, "She has deadly accuracy."

"She does," Beckett said laughingly. They were led to their table and she held Castle's hand as they walked through the little restaurant and once at their table she said, "How was lunch?"

"It was great," Lanie said. "My mom was worrying of course but I told you she would do that."

"And your dad?" Beckett then asked.

"He didn't say much at first, I think he's amazed I'm getting married," Lanie replied. "But they love Dylan so they're happy for us."

"Good thing," he said. He smiled when his fiancée squeezed his hand and Dylan then said, "But conversation focused mainly on the wedding which isn't a surprise of course."

"Of course," Castle said. He wanted to say something else when his wife touched his hand and at the same time their waiter came over for their drink order. When the man left he was going to speak again but Beckett cut him off, not really to his surprise though as he'd expected her to know what he was going to say already, and he waited to hear what she was going to say instead of the subject he'd been about to bring up.

"You never said where exactly we're going to be for your ceremony," Beckett told the pair.

"The invitation says where it'll be," Lanie replied.

"Then where are you on the lake?" Castle asked.

"You'll see us," Lanie said.

"I hope so," Beckett said teasingly. "I really don't want to miss this." She wasn't surprised when her friend laughed, and she said, "You're sure casual is alright?"

"I told you it's summer and there are going to be a number of kids there," Lanie said.

"We will be in the shade," Dylan added. "I don't want her to faint from the heat."

"Your wedding dress?" Beckett asked.

Shaking her head Lanie said, "Nothing too elaborate."

"I would have been shocked if it was," Beckett said before she and her friend started to laugh.

"Did you guys talk about your wedding dresses?" Castle asked his wife.

Nodding Beckett said, "She also went to a cotillion."

"Luckily only once," Lanie said. She saw her fiancé was looking at her and told him, "I wasn't a debutant, my parents just threw one for me for my sweet sixteen. I had a big… concoction of lace and skirts and it was ugly."

"You must have loved it though," Dylan told her.

"Sort of," Lanie replied after hesitating for a moment. "But my dress tomorrow is nothing like that."

"Are you going to help her?" Castle said to his wife.

"No, I'm leaving that to her mom and future sister in law," Beckett said.

"Your sister's helping her?" Castle asked Dylan.

"She asked to," Dylan replied. "Agathe and Lanie are good friends."

"She's very nice," the doctor herself said when Castle and Beckett turned to look at her. "And I know you want to spend time with your girls so…"

"I told you it's fine," Beckett said with a smile. They had to stop talking to order and when they were alone again she was about to ask if Dylan's brother in law would be at the wedding when her husband spoke before she could, bringing up a subject she hadn't really wanted him to mention.

"How was the spa?" Castle said.

Lanie opened her mouth to speak before she looked at Beckett and said, "You told him?"

"I wasn't going to," she said, looking at her husband. "I just mentioned swimming and Julia guessed I'd gone so I was honest with them. They didn't really care though that we'd gone in the water naked."

"They've done that with the private baths in Japan," Castle said. He smiled when his wife gave him a look and said, "They did, and Julia went in that one bath with Mari while we were there. But it sounds like you all had a great time."

"We did," Lanie said. She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he'd say anything else, when he didn't she glanced at Beckett for a moment. When she saw the relief on her friend's face she quickly asked her, "How was it with the girls after?"

"It was nice," Beckett said, looking at her husband. As he was handing Lanie his phone she said, "I took the first ones, he got the others," as there were pictures of her husband with the girls in the pool and then her with the two.

"How sweet," Lanie said with a smile, leaning the camera over so her fiancé could see. "So, we have that to look forward to."

"You know already," Beckett told her with a smile. "How many times have you taken care of kids?"

"She's fantastic with Hilda," Dylan said.

"You're ready for your child?" Castle said.

"Rhetorical?" Dylan asked him. When the man nodded he laughed for a moment, stopping as their food was served. After they were alone he looked at his fiancée before he saw she still had Castle's phone. "You're not hungry?" he asked in slight concern.

"No, no," Lanie said quickly. "I'm trying to see if you have your family picture."

"Oh, we're still getting it developed," Beckett said with a smile. "But as soon as I get it ready I'll send it to you." When Lanie handed the phone back to her husband they started to eat again before Dylan was asking them about the picture.

"Who ended up taking it?" the man said.

"Skye," Beckett said with a smile. "She's good as well."

"And that's the one that goes in the family room?" Dylan asked.

"Above the fireplace," Castle said with a nod. "But hey, we don't want to hog the conversation," he said quickly before the couple across from them could say anything. "Did you ever figure out where you're going for your honeymoon?"

"I let her know that earlier," Dylan replied.

"Did you tell him to do that?" Lanie asked Castle.

"No," he said quickly, shaking his head seriously. "But he did ask about it," Castle said after a moment's pause and Dylan started to glare at him.

Laughing Lanie shook her head, "He gave me a travel book to the Caribbean and had the first page on Bermuda marked."

"Oh good," Beckett said with a smile at her friend's fiancé. "She's always wanted to go there."

"She's told me," Dylan said, smiling at Lanie.

"Did he tell you your itinerary?" Beckett asked.

"He did," Lanie said, taking a sip of her drink.

Beckett glanced at her husband, both smiling, as they were both aware the doctor would be going into as much detail as possible about what her fiancé had told her. She didn't mind; as she knew she would have done the same after learning about their honeymoon from Castle; and hoped that they would be exploring some of the different islands since she was aware Lanie wanted to do that. And as the doctor began by listing the five islands they would be visiting, she was relieved to know Dylan knew Lanie well.

"I think it'll be a fun trip," Castle said when the couple had finished and stood with his wife as they'd finished their meal and paid for the doctors.

"You will rest, right?" Beckett asked her friend as they walked arm in arm together out of the restaurant.

"My energy isn't too bad," Lanie said. "It's just the morning sickness though ginger is helping me a lot like I told you." By then they were under the awning outside and she said, "I was going to suggest we walk a little through Central Park."

"I wish we could have," Beckett said, looking at the rain as well. "But better we don't risk it."

"Especially right before your wedding," Castle commented.

When Laine rolled her eyes at her Beckett couldn't help laughing and she hugged the doctor tightly before saying, "Get some rest and we'll see you tomorrow."

"Thank you so much for dinner," Lanie told her before they let each other go. "I told you it was our treat."

"Not the night before your wedding," Beckett said. She laughed when her friend sighed in exaggeration and she told her, "We wanted to." Turning to Dylan she shook his hand warmly and said, "I'm so happy for you both; I'm hoping the wedding will be sunny at least."

"It should be beautiful," Lanie said reassuringly.

Since he'd said goodbye to the two, Castle stepped up to his wife and wrapped his arm around her waist while they watched Lanie and Dylan hurry out into the rain under their umbrella. "You know we could walk in the park," he finally commented once the couple's cab was driving away.

"And we couldn't do that with them?" Beckett asked.

"We would have been separated," Castle replied.

Beckett thought of that for a moment and sighed saying, "Alright but not for that long."

"Are you cold?" Castle asked, looking at her sundress she'd worn.

"No, I just don't want to get soaking wet," Beckett replied, her dress the same blue patterned one she'd worn in Ireland the year before.

Smiling at her Castle leaned over and kissed her cheek before he let her go so he could open their umbrella. They walked down the sidewalk until they'd reached the nearest intersection before they froze at the same time at the sight of a bolt of lightning going above them in the sky. "Uh… I think we better head back," he told her.

"I agree," Beckett said quickly before they went to the curb. She wasn't surprised it took some time for them to get a taxi but when they finally did she sat in the back in relief. After they were heading down the street she leaned against her husband, resting her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm securely around her and they went home watching the rain falling outside.

* * *

"Rick?"

"Yeah, love?"

"Do you think we can skip the tea?"

Pausing as he was just about to fill the kettle he'd just gotten, Castle glanced at it and then said, "Sure."

Beckett, standing inside the office, was by the window and looking out on the rain that was still falling. When she saw another bolt of lightning she shivered and wrapped her arms around herself before she nearly jumped when her husband wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Sorry," she told him.

"No, it's alright," Castle replied. He then smiled when she turned around to him and said, "We can still have some, I can make it during the movie."

" _D'athraigh mé mo intinn_ ," Beckett said, informing him she'd changed her mind.

"Okay," Castle said, having to clear his throat. He got a quick hold of himself and said, " _Cad atá i gcuimhne agat_?" asking her what she had in mind.

Beckett didn't respond to that verbally, instead she wrapped her arms around his neck a little tighter and kissed him. She wasn't surprised when they kissed each other passionately shortly after his initial reaction and they were flicking their tongues together inside of her mouth. When they needed to breathe they stopped at the same time and slowly pulled away. She gave him a smile before pulling him over to the desk and said simply, " _Suí_."

Castle sat down instantly, since his wife had told him the word sit and firmly, before she was getting on his lap. He was nearly gasping for air immediately as she was straddling him, and he held her saying, "Are you sure? The bed-"

Beckett kissed him deeply, cutting off his making sure she was alright doing that, while she reached for his shirt. They'd kissed each other in the kitchen once they'd gotten back to the loft and she had untucked his shirt then. All she had to do was unbutton it before she could rake her nails down his bare chest. She smiled when he broke off from their kiss with her name on his lips and she said, "Does that look like I'm sure?"

"Yes," Castle replied, trying to bring her to him to kiss her again. When they'd parted he said, "Do you want your dress on still."

"It needs to be," Beckett said apologetically. She was relieved when he shook his head rapidly and they kissed again before they slowly parted and then were drawn back to one another again. That time they were kissing slowly and sensuously before they stayed apart. She reached down in between them, unbuttoning and unzipping his trousers, feeling his hands pushing the skirt of her dress up every so often. "Alright," she told him when his erection was resting up on his stomach. "Hold that up for me," she told him.

"Sure," Castle said rapidly before he pushed the skirt up fully. "Kate," he breathed out, seeing immediately that her mound was bared to him.

"I'm quick," Beckett said, as she'd removed her panties while her husband had been on the phone briefly with a wrong number.

Castle didn't respond at all to that, focused on getting her down as he held onto her by the hips to do that. He paused in moving her when she grasped his length and hissed as he couldn't help himself at the feel of her hand firmly about him. "This might be fast," he warned her.

"You guessed I wanted it to be?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"I was hoping," Castle admitted.

"Pervert," Beckett shot back, moving down then.

"Your per-vert," Castle grunted as he was soon within her. She didn't stop until they were fully coupled, and he spanned his hands around her waist tightly before he tugged her against him. "This is all you," he told her as he knew his movements were a bit limited. He expected her to comment on that but when she merely smiled at him he almost gulped aloud, waiting to see what she would do and relieved when she both spoke and acted at the same time a second later to their pleasure.

"I can fuck you too," Beckett replied, sliding her fingernails over the back of his head, just barely scraping against his scalp. She luckily had the ability to move though her legs were squeezed tightly by the arms of the chair. She knew that was why they had to make it fast, but she could tell her husband wasn't worrying about that with the way he kissed at her neck. She leaned against him slightly and said, "Too much?"

"Yeah, I can get this dress off you," Castle replied, trying not to focus on her breasts that he could feel against him. He was relieved when she moved away enough for them to look at each other and he confessed his problem then, "What do I touch?"

Beckett leaned against him again, but only to whisper rapidly into his ear rapidly as she had to stop moving to do that. When he immediately grasped her ass she sat back up fully and then started to move again. She was gasping as he groaned heavily at the way the friction between them seemed to be intense immediately and she knew they weren't going to last. " _Má tá tú ag dul a bhuail dom é a dhéanamh anois_!" she exclaimed as he was grasping her tightly, having told him that if he was going to hit her he needed to do it then.

Squeezing at her with his right hand, Castle then slapped her firmly but not hard enough to hurt before they were suddenly kissing. He wasn't sure what set that off but with the intensity of what they were feeling together it only added. He slapped her again but didn't for a third time as he was just holding her by her ass as if he could move her. It was a weak attempt at a distraction and his pleasure took over rapidly. With him unable to fight it, he groaned to his wife, "My love you need to come, I'm so fucking close… Your pussy is too fucking…"

Beckett wasn't surprised he couldn't continue and she brushed her lips against his before she told him firmly, "Then your cock is going to be back inside me again."

"Whenever you want," Castle hissed heavily as she was suddenly slowing down. "Love," he warned as he was getting close and didn't want to precede her. Luckily, she started to speed up and he wasn't surprised when shortly after that she broke and he held her to him, listening to her satisfaction as his body began to throb even harder than it had been before.

"Oh, Rick please… come with me… Rick!" Beckett called out to him when she first started to orgasm. She could only chant his name after that as the ecstasy took her over completely and she dug her nails into his shoulders through his shirt. A few seconds after she'd done that she suddenly felt him moving and cried out her pleasure when he climaxed too. He was calling her name; obviously only able to say that; and she moved her right hand to cup the back of his head to give him a little extra stimulation. But she forgot the reason she'd done that as her body was calming down and she leaned against him again as she let him finish. When he ran his hands over her back and hair once he was still she moved to kiss him, plunging her tongue into his mouth before they parted, and he was groaning heavily.

"Do you know how many times I've wanted you like this? In this chair?" Castle asked his wife.

Smiling Beckett said, "I'm guessing a number of times."

Breathing out hard, as his wife was caressing his hair, Castle said, "Several. But here…"

Slightly startled, Beckett moved so she was getting off him and she watched him stand up hurriedly to fix himself. " _An bhfuil tú críochnaithe_?" she asked, which meant was he finished.

Looking up at his wife, Castle reached for her and then pulled her to him roughly before he said, " _An bhfuil mé fós á líonadh duit_?" growling out the question.

Biting at her lower lip Beckett took a moment to recover from the erotic nature of the question; if he was still filling her. She nodded and then murmured, still speaking in Irish, " _Yes but you're starting to leave me_."

" _Then we should fix that_ ," Castle replied as they took each other's hands so they could go over to the bedroom. Once inside he reached for the back of his wife's dress, unzipping it and watching her step out of it, he grabbed her and almost tossed her onto the bed before he was following.

Beckett was ready for her husband and she pulled him on top of her before they kissed, getting his clothes off so they could couple gratifyingly once more.

* * *

Holding onto his wife tightly, Castle watched as her body moved in the last moments of her orgasm and he slowed down his fingers on her clit until she was still. "Good?" he asked.

Unable to help laughing, Beckett said, "I think so, if my reaction tells you anything." She then kissed his jaw a few times and said, "Are we finished?"

"Perhaps," Castle said vaguely. He was laughing that time as his wife playfully hit his chest before he said, "What?"

"That's not a perhaps question," Beckett told him. "Yes or no love."

Turning his head, Castle kissed his wife passionately and then caressed her side a few times before they stopped, and he then told her, "No."

Beckett smiled and then turned so she was on her stomach before she said, "What should we do tomorrow?"

"Well, I'll take you on the table a few times," Castle began, pretending to think that over. "And then on the bed and-"

"Not that," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "With the girls."

Thinking for a moment Castle said, "The pool?"

Beckett laughed and said, "I thought the same. Oh, and I forgot the girls and everyone else." She watched her husband as he nodded and then asked, "What's wrong?" as he suddenly grew serious.

"No, I'm still thinking about tomorrow night," Castle replied. He smiled when she groaned and then pressed her face to his shoulder. " _Sampla_?" he couldn't help asking.

"Of course," Beckett said, knowing he meant when they would fill their bout of love making with as many positions as possible. She caressed his cheek with her hand and said, "But let's not worry about that yet, okay?"

"Right," Castle said quickly. "It was nice at the pool though."

"It was," Beckett said, running her fingers through the hairs that were on his forehead. She did that a few times before she smiled at her husband, leaning over and kissing him deeply on the lips. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Shuddering at the seductive lilt to his wife's voice, Castle pulled Beckett to him so they could begin kissing passionately as they worked to become enveloped with one another once more.

* * *

"Here," Castle said as he walked over to his wife.

"Thank you, I told you though that I could get this," Beckett said as she took the glass.

"I don't mind," Castle said.

Beckett, while she was sipping at her drink, studied her husband before she said, "Have you ever thought about going to a nudist beach?"

"Oh no, just walking around here is fine," Castle said as he covered himself with the bed sheet. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed at the side of her head before saying, "But we're done, right?"

"We are," Beckett said with a smile before handing him her glass. After he'd set it on his nightstand she waited for him to lay down before she was with him, pressed against his side. "It'll be nice tomorrow."

"It will, Lanie will be happy and we'll have time with the girls in the pool again," Castle said, holding her to him and caressing her hair. He smiled and said, "We'll have the chance to play with them together."

"You're thinking we didn't spend enough time with them?" Beckett asked, looking up at him.

"If we asked them I'm very certain they would say we did. Insist on it actually," Castle said before they laughed together. As he was watching her he leaned down, capturing her lips with his own. He knew that she was aware he was deliberately kissing her as he'd done at the pool at her father's old apartment building but realized she didn't really care when she drew his tongue into her mouth. After they had parted he held her close again and while they fell asleep they were talking about their daughters and their time with them at the pool again, pressed against one another as they remembered.

* * *

 _"See that Josa?" Julia whispered into her little sister's ear. "That's why we gotta let mom and dad kiss 'cause it makes them happy."_

 _"Does she understand?" Eliza whispered to her big sister, looking at the baby who was staring ahead of them with wide eyes. She also wanted to point out to their sister that Josie wouldn't be able to see their parents but knew she was aware of that already._

 _"No but I told you this stuff when you were a baby," Julia replied quietly. "And look now, you're the same as me."_

 _Eliza smiled widely and nodded rapidly before she looked at their baby sister before she leaned over and kissed her cheek before she saw Josie was smiling at her. "Should we tell Mommy and Daddy we wanna go swimming?" she asked._

 _"I don't think we should," Julia replied. She wasn't surprised when Eliza wrinkled her nose but turned her attention back to Josie. She herself looked over at their parents, seeing they were in the middle of the pool where they were standing after having been swimming around the water. At that moment they were kissing deeply, arms wrapped around each other, and she smiled before she looked back at her sisters who she was supposed to be taking care of all on her own._

 _"Rick," Beckett said with a laugh. "The girls," she told him when her husband looked at her with one eyebrow raised._

 _"They don't mind," Castle said though he kissed at her neck the next time instead of her lips. When he forced himself away he said, "But I guess we should spend some time with them."_

 _"That would be nice," Beckett said. But before her husband could let her go she leaned over and kissed him. They were not as passionate as they'd been before, but they were together for some time before slowly moving away from each other. She ducked under the water with him until they were stepping out and she took the towel that Eliza hurried over to hand to her. "Thank you, sweetie," she told her. "Sorry we were in there for so long."_

 _Castle was startled when their middle child shrugged, and he looked at Beckett who smiled, picking her up. "How's Josie?" he asked Julia as the girl was coming over to them._

 _"She's good," she answered, showing them the baby who she was holding with Josie's back against her chest. "She's not going to sleep anymore?"_

 _"I don't think so," Beckett said, studying the baby. She then smiled and said, "So now we've finished swimming who'd you like to swim with?"_

 _"Can we swim with you Mom?" Julia asked._

 _"Definitely," Castle said, going over to her and taking Josie. "Though couldn't I walk around the shallow end with her?"_

 _"You can," Beckett said with a smile. "We do need to eat our snack remember."_

 _"Oh! Grandpapa has that in our bag," Julia said, looking over at the one on the table._

 _"I know, I asked him to pack that for me," Beckett answered. "Alright, let's go," she said as she set down Eliza._

 _Going to the steps, the little girl went into the water first, knowing that her family was right behind her. She kicked off the step and then went into the water, swimming over to the middle of the shallow area before she turned around._

 _"Stay there," Beckett told her, swimming over to her._

 _"Can we play Marco Polo?" Eliza asked._

 _"Dad can't play," Julia pointed out to her sister._

 _"Oh… then can you-" Eliza started to say._

 _"Hold on," Beckett said quickly. "We don't need to play with your daddy every time."_

 _"It's not the same," Julia commented, smiling at her father who had walked down to them._

 _"Still, you shouldn't have to wait for me," Castle said wryly. "Though I appreciate you looking out for us like that."_

 _"You two don't need to worry," Beckett said firmly though she was smiling at the same time. "So we can play it," she told them, waiting to see what they would decide to do as she and Castle watched them share a look._

 _"We want you to throw us in the water Mommy," Eliza said. "Can you?"_

 _Beckett resisted the urge to sigh as she knew they'd still decide to wait for Castle to play Marco Polo and instead turned her attention to her daughters. "I'm not sure I can throw you though," she told Julia. "Are you sure you don't want to play Marco Polo?"_

 _"Nope," the girl said firmly._

 _"Am I going to need to throw you?" Castle asked as he and Julia were watching Eliza being thrown by Beckett._

 _"No, I'll jump from the side over there," Julia said._

 _Turning to see her going up the stairs, Castle called, "Don't jump until your mom's ready to watch you."_

 _Looking over at the side of the pool Beckett said, "Why don't we play volleyball after this?" She realized something and asked her husband, "Do you mind having to get out?"_

 _"No," Castle said quickly. "I figured that'd happen eventually."_

 _"What about you playing Daddy?" Eliza asked as she swam over to him after resurfacing._

 _"I'll play after if we have time," Castle said. "And then of course we can always go to the pool at home before we leave for Florida."_

 _"Oh yeah," Eliza said with a smile as she remembered they were going home the next day. She then frowned and asked, "How come we don't spend all day with Auntie Lanie and…"_

 _"He's not your uncle just yet," Beckett said, watching Julia jump into the water further down the pool. "And you need to remember to ask if it's okay with him for you two to call him that."_

 _"Call who?" Julia asked as she'd resurfaced in time to hear._

 _"Dylan," Castle answered as he walked over to the steps since the three were coming towards him and Josie. "I think he would be, you call Lanie auntie of course."_

 _"Should we call him uncle-ie?" Julia asked._

 _"That word doesn't exist," Castle said in exaggerated annoyance as he turned around to look at the three step out of the water. "Just uncle."_

 _"What is it?" Beckett asked as she looked down at Josie while the girls were getting the bouncy ball._

 _"Why don't we call everyone at home that? Rebecca or Lily?" Julia asked, not surprised her mother had noticed her thoughtful expression._

 _"Do you really want to?" Castle asked. He then looked at his wife and said, "Why did we never have the kids call them that? They're their godparents."_

 _"They are but I don't think it would work," Beckett said. "Why that is I don't know."_

 _"It's weird, Skye was your sister," Castle commented as the girls were coming back to them._

 _"Skye by itself is cooler," Julia said as her sister was bouncing the ball then and Josie was cooing suddenly._

 _"Then there's your reason," Beckett said to her husband with a smile. "Ready?" she asked the girls. When the two nodded she went with them over to the stairs where they went into the water. With Eliza playing on the steps they started to hit the ball around to each other as Castle sat on a chair he'd dragged over to the edge of the pool. She smiled as she heard Josie making some ah and e sounds before her husband was suddenly getting up from the chair, making them stop their game to watch him to see what had happened before he was turning to her and letting her know what he'd noticed._

 _"We forgot the snacks love," Castle told his wife._

 _"We can eat them here Daddy," Eliza said eagerly, going over to the side of the pool and holding onto it._

 _"I don't think so," Castle said laughingly as he was putting Josie into her carrier._

 _"He's right, your grandpapa was supposed to make ants on a log," Beckett said._

 _"That's why they're on the log, they don't swim," Julia said. She stuck her tongue back out at her sister when she did that to her and went up the steps before she hurried to her father._

 _"Hold on," Castle said quickly, wrapping her towel around her. He dried her off speedily and then tried to get her to sit on one of the chairs around the table. "Eliza-" he started to say in slight exasperation._

 _"I wanna stay with you Daddy," the little girl explained._

 _"Don't forget your snack," Beckett said as she was sitting down at another chair. She watched Julia lean against the table next to her and said, "What are you doing sweetie?"_

 _"Just seeing if Josa wants some peanut butter too," Julia replied, smirking back at her mother. When Beckett reached for her cheek and playfully pinched it she giggled and then hugged her around the neck quickly before her father was handing her a celery stick filled with peanut butter and raisins. She started to eat, watching her mother reach for Josie's hand, squeezing it gently._

 _"Does she want this?" Eliza asked, holding up her bitten celery stalk._

 _"No," Castle said with a smile, squeezing her close to him. "And don't try to give her peanut butter."_

 _"Will it get stuck like if you give it to the doggies?" Eliza said._

 _"I don't know, it's more she'll probably get sick," Beckett answered._

 _"Oh…" Eliza said slowly before she looked at her little sister. "Sorry Josa, I don't want you to get sick."_

 _"She doesn't want to either," Castle said before he kissed the top of her head._

 _"Mom?" Julia asked._

 _"Yes, sweetie," Beckett replied._

 _"Are Auntie Lanie and Dylan going on a honeymoon?" Julia asked._

 _"They are," Beckett replied. "But we don't know where because they haven't told us yet."_

 _"Are they gonna go to Ireland?" Eliza said._

 _"No," Beckett said, unable to help smiling as she wasn't surprised the little girl had guessed that. "I'm really hoping he takes her to the Caribbean," she then said to her husband._

 _"She likes it there?" Julia asked._

 _"She does," Beckett replied. "Her father's part Bermudian so she wants to see there."_

 _"How come she didn't go?" Eliza asked._

 _"Her parents were busy working," Beckett explained, speaking to all three of them as Castle looked inquisitive as well. "And she was busy getting her doctorate eventually."_

 _"Let's hope they go," Castle said. When the girls finished their celery he grabbed his phone, sliding it across the table to his wife as he smiled at her._

 _"I knew," Beckett said as she opened the gallery that was there. "If you swim with them now I'll take pictures myself."_

 _"How can you hold that and take pictures?" Eliza asked._

 _"It's very easy but I have to be very careful," Castle commented. "What do you think?" he directed to his wife._

 _"You did a great job," Beckett said a little absently as she was studying the pictures. She then caught sight of the time at the top and said, "Speaking of pictures you better get going."_

 _"It's getting late?" Castle asked._

 _Beckett nodded and kissed the side of Julia's head before she stood, intending to get Josie when her husband was doing that. "I'll bring her into the water."_

 _"And my phone too?" Castle asked, kissing their baby's forehead._

 _"Sure," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. She was shaken from that when her husband pulled her close to him and she was about to speak when he was taking her lips with his own. After they parted she took the baby and said, "You really need to calm down you know."_

 _"I didn't see you protesting," Castle told her teasingly._

 _"Yeah Mommy," Eliza said, taking her hand. "And now we can go swimming."_

 _"Let's go," Castle replied, leaning over to brush his lips to his wife's before he went with their two oldest into the water._

 _Beckett was going to sit on the top step when she paused as Eliza was climbing onto her father's back. "I thought you wanted to swim," she said teasingly to the little girl._

 _"I'm gonna with Daddy," Eliza said, smiling back at her as she knew she was kidding. She squealed with pleasure as her father stepped down into the water and looked back at her mother, waving to her before looking forward again._

 _Sitting on the outside of the pool, Beckett started taking pictures immediately of the three in front of her. She cradled Josie in her free arm before she set the phone down behind her and watched as her husband was ducking under the water to tug their daughters down to their squeals of delight. She smiled and rocked the baby gently when she cooed before looking down at Josie to make sure she was alright. When she heard water moving suddenly she looked up, startled, before she saw it was her husband. "You're tired now?" she asked teasingly._

 _Shaking his head Castle moved so he could bring himself face to face with his wife, his hands on either side of her on the outside of the pool. "Just wanted to do this very quickly."_

 _Beckett only had time for a brief smile before her husband was kissing her, sensuously until they were suddenly being splashed. "Girls," she said with a laugh._

 _"Sorry but we wanted to come over too," Julia said first with a smile. She wrapped her arms around her father and said, "Go ahead Dad."_

 _"You knew already," Castle stated. When the girl just smiled at him he then turned to his wife and brushed his lips to hers before he murmured, "I love you Kate."_

 _"Love you too, Rick," Beckett replied with a smile. She quirked her eyebrows up slightly before they turned to their daughters, hugging them and telling them they loved them as well._

 _After the girls had said the same Castle and Beckett went back into the pool with them after sharing kisses with them; even Josie. The couple would play with their three daughters until they would need to stop and reluctantly leave for their plans that night, enjoying that time together to its fullest._


	28. I'll Be Coming On Home

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _When the Night_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album _Red Rose Speedway_.

A/N #2: Great reading the feedback for the last chapter so will get right to my thank yous for that! MsNYC (Glad you enjoyed the time that Beckett and Skye had together at the spa before they joined the others. And not surprised you're not thinking they're attracted to each other either, lol, but no they're not just sisters as you said. Not surprised you're wondering what the lady at the pool said to Castle if she did say anything, though in my mind I think the girls were enough of a deterrent, lol. Great you loved the Castle and Beckett moments there were in the first half! So pleased that you thought the love scenes were tastefully written as usual, since of course that's my aim, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed Lanie and Dylan together and mentioned a little slice of heaven. I really needed to give Lanie some kind of happiness, as I was never happy with how the writers, or whoever was thinking of what to do with her character, treated her as the show was in the last seasons. Not surprised you're sure that Dylan wouldn't mind being an uncle to the girls since Lanie's their aunt of course. Very pleased to read that you love the flashback in the chapter as usual! And that it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (I was happy you liked how Lanie was brought into the first half of the chapter. And of course, great you thought it was good writing for Lanie and Skye! With the second half I'm glad you thought it was good writing for everyone!),

Mb (I was happy to see you thought it was a sweet, loving and funny chapter. Not surprised you were laughing at Beckett asking Castle if he'd be okay and if he had everything he needed for the girls, lol. Or that you've done that yourself. So pleased you thought their time at the spa was good for Lanie, her friend and Beckett and Skye. And of course, I'm glad that you see Skye as if she truly was and is Beckett's sister since I'm writing for that, lol. Great you thought it was fun times at the pool that they had. I wasn't surprised to see that you were laughing at Julia speaking about the woman who was interested in Castle but not his 3 kids. And I'm glad you think it's nice to see Lanie happy as well as her and Beckett remaining close though I couldn't see them not being. You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! And of course, it was great that you thought the second half of the chapter was beautifully written. I'm glad you thought the dinner was a nice one. Also that you think Lanie and Dylan are so cute together and so happy too! I was pleased that you thought Castle and Beckett alone at the loft were hot together same with you mentioning them planning their next night of making love too. Really happy you think the different positions they try make them erotic, sensual and loving together. And great you loved the flashback of them at the pool having fun with Julia, Eliza and Josie since I had fun writing that. You're welcome for the second half of the chapter too!) and

vetgirlmx (I'm happy to see you thought the chapter was very good and different too! You're very right about them not spending time apart that often, lol, which was why I wanted to write that- to be different- and great that you enjoyed thoroughly their spa day! I wasn't surprised you mentioned that it's been a while since Beckett spent time like that with Lanie, or that you missed it though as you said you didn't know how much you did. I'm glad that you were waiting for the dinner they had with Lanie and Dylan. And yeah, I figured Dylan should be in a bit more and with that not surprised you're hoping to see him and Lanie more often. Great you can't wait for the wedding too and now you don't need to wait anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I enjoyed reading them all and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Bye Bye Blackbird_ written by Mort Dixon, the version I've taken from is sung by Paul McCartney from his album _Kisses on the Bottom_.

I'll Be Coming On Home

"Julia, Eliza," Beckett said to the girls. "Stop skipping, you're going to ruin your sandals."

"Are we there yet?" Julia asked, stopping first and then going over to her mother.

"Almost," Castle said before his wife could respond. When she looked at him he nodded in front of them and watched her look at the balloons tied to a tree.

"Is that it?" Eliza asked eagerly, spotting the white balloons as well.

"I think so," Beckett said, looking behind them to check that the rest of their family was following. "Wait here," she told her husband when they'd reached the tree where the balloons were.

"Where are they going to be coming from?" Castle asked, looking around.

"I don't know," Beckett said with a smile.

"Maybe over there," Julia said.

"Oh, I see Dylan," Beckett said as she'd been looking into the shadows where there looked to be some white benches.

"Where's Lanie?" Alexis asked.

"They're probably going to come by car to this point," Beckett said, looking back and forth at the street they'd been walking on. "But since we're guests we should get our seats."

" _Tio_ Javi!" Eliza squealed then before rushing over to him.

"Oof," Esposito said jokingly as the little girl threw herself at him. He picked her up and said, "Guys ready to sit?"

"Are you the usher?" Beckett asked in surprise.

Shaking his head Esposito said as he led them over to the benches, "Lanie asked if I would help you guys sit once you were here; Ryan and his family too."

"What about you?" Julia asked, she and her sister holding his hands.

"I'm next to Ryan; they'll be behind you," Esposito said, leading them to a bench behind the front one to the left of two trees that were next to each other.

Beckett was surprised that there wasn't anything to mark where the bride and groom would be standing with the officiant but as they were sitting on the two benches they'd take up she had the feeling Lanie was fine with that. She reached over to her husband, taking Josie from him as she would be holding her during the ceremony. She watched Eliza turned to look at her, watching her talking to the baby with a smile on her face.

"We're gonna get a new uncle now," the little girl said. "And he's really nice too. And you get to see your first wedding." Eliza then frowned and then said, "Does it count?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Castle asked, having been listening as well.

"'Cause she was at your wedding," Eliza said.

"Does this one count too?" Julia asked. "She couldn't see since she was inside you Mom."

"Slightly," Beckett said, unable to help smile at their discussion. "I'm sure she'll go to other weddings as she grows up," she added, gently wiping off some of the drool on Josie's chin with her bib.

"Who?" Eliza asked.

Laughing softly Beckett then said, "I don't know sweetie. We'll need to see as time goes on."

Looking around them, Castle watched as more people came to the benches to sit at them. He jumped a bit when he saw one guest and leaned over quickly to whisper into his wife's ear, "Gates is here."

"I know," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when her husband looked at her with wide eyes and said, "Lanie told me, it makes sense you know. She still works with the 12th."

Castle was tempted to ask if she was alright with that, but he was interrupted when Dylan came over to them. "Hey, how's the groom?" he asked, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm fine, impatient for this to start," Dylan admitted with a smile. "I want to see my future wife."

Going over to them, Esposito said to the man, "They're here and ready to start."

"My sister?" Dylan asked.

"Her too," Esposito replied with a nod.

"We'll talk at the reception," Dylan said. "I'd like you to meet Agathe and Hilda. Oh, and Mark of course."

Nodding, Beckett couldn't help smiling at his obvious nervousness and she looked on with her husband as Dylan went to the man dressed in a suit that had arrived just then. She guessed it was an officiant and she was about to talk to her husband before she noticed he was sitting directly next to her with Eliza on his lap.

"She said it was more romantic if we sat together," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife just looked at him and he said, "Okay, she used the word better but you know what she meant."

With a smile Beckett squeezed his hand before she turned to look down the aisle to check on where Lanie was. She was a little surprised to see Dylan walking down the aisle with a woman younger than him but realized it was his sister. She smiled, seeing the man behind them holding a one-year old, guessing that that was Mark and Hilda. But shortly after that she spotted Lanie with her parents on either side of her at the end of the aisle. She smiled and then heard some music beginning as Dylan was looking down to his fiancée before they were all standing up as the three began to walk.

Castle squeezed his wife's arm gently while Lanie passed by with her parents, smiling at her when she glanced back quickly at him. When they looked back their friend was hugging her mother before turning to her father and doing the same with him.

Beckett smiled when Lanie brushed some tears off her father's face before she turned to Dylan. Sitting back down she checked on Josie to make sure she was alright before turning her attention to the officiant who began to speak. She wasn't surprised the words were similar to the ones she and Castle had had for their ceremonies, and the memory made her lean her head on her husband's shoulder.

Wrapping his arm around Beckett, Castle smiled when the couple in front of them began to recite their vows. He wondered if they had lasted all that long as it seemed they were both speaking quickly, though he reminded himself swiftly that he and his wife had a lot they needed to say after everything they'd been through at both of their weddings.

Biting at her lower lip when Lanie and Dylan exchanged rings, Beckett couldn't help feeling an intense sense of nostalgia at the sight. She wanted to kiss her husband at the memories but she kept still, watching their friends being pronounced husband and wife.

"Congratulations, you may now kiss each other," the officiant told them with a smile.

"Dr. Townsend?" Dylan asked teasingly as he turned to his wife.

"Parrish," Lanie said wryly, smiling as she could hear her friends laughing. She and her husband wrapped their arms around each other tightly, embracing just before they began to kiss.

Making sure Josie was steady against her chest, Beckett applauded with all the other guests until Lanie and Dylan had parted and then began to throw the daisy petals they'd found on the seats of their benches. "Congratulations," she called to her friend as she passed by on her way down the aisle with her new husband. When the doctor smiled at her she stopped throwing petals; as it was harder for her to do that; and waited until the two were stepping away from the makeshift aisle.

"That was fast," Eliza commented when her mother turned to them.

"They tend to be," Beckett said.

"Likely that was the point," Castle commented with a smile. "Should we go?" he asked.

"I would like to," Martha said firmly.

"Me too," Alexis said with a smile. She took Louis' hand and they stepped out together first before she saw they'd have to wait to talk to the new couple as the other guests had reached them first. "It was a beautiful ceremony," she said, looking at her stepmother.

"It was," Beckett said with a nod. "And Lanie's wearing the dress she's always wanted to."

"That simple?" Martha asked.

"She prefers more elaborate clothes for dates," Beckett said with a smile. "She told me that was what she wanted on her wedding day."

Julia studied Lanie when she could see her through the people, seeing what her mother meant. The ivory dress had one shoulder strap and some lace over it but the design of it was just tight enough to hug her body. She suddenly thought of something and asked, "She's not showing?"

"It's too soon," Castle said quickly.

"He's right," Beckett said, speaking fast as well as a lot of the guests were starting to disperse. The lunch that would be short after; since Lanie and Dylan were leaving as soon as they could that afternoon for their honeymoon; and only a few of those closest to the couples were attending it. Since they had the chance they started to go forward to the pair when they were stopped by Gates calling her name. She breathed in deeply, trying not to look at her husband as she turned to her former superior, waiting to see what she would say as she approached her and her family.

"Beckett, Castle," Gates said to them both, glancing at Castle who was slightly behind his wife. "It's nice to see you again," she said as she looked back to Beckett and then down at the baby. "Lanie told me your baby would be here. Her name is Josie?"

"It is, would you like to hold her?" Castle asked.

Gates started to speak before her phone then rang and she said, "I wish I could but that'll be my husband. My daughter just got back from her trip to Europe."

"It was nice of you to come to the wedding," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when the captain nodded to them and then said goodbye before leaving. She looked behind her at her husband when they were alone and said, "Okay?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure about her though," Castle said. "What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked the little girl as she was holding onto him tightly.

"She's the lady that doesn't like you," Eliza said. She pulled away and asked, "Are you kay?"

"I am," Castle said, trying not to laugh. He kissed her cheek and then looked at Beckett who was smiling slightly at him before he said, "Want to go see Lanie now?"

"Yeah," Eliza asked eagerly as she remembered the wedding they'd just seen.

"Can we ask Dylan now or do we have to wait?" Julia asked her mother, hurrying over to walk with her.

"Ask him now but wait for a chance," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when her oldest looked at her in confusion and explained, "Say hello to them first."

Julia nodded rapidly and then turned to the couple they were nearing, smiling when she saw how widely Lanie was smiling before they reached the pair. She broke away from her family and hugged her aunt tightly, deciding that was a better greeting than words could be.

"Thank you, Julia," Lanie said with a smile as she embraced the girl back.

"Are you happy?" Julia asked, looking up at her.

"We are," Dylan said.

"Oh," Julia said. "I forgot to say hi first."

"I think that hug was enough," Dylan said, smiling at her family.

"Good, now can I ask something?" Julia asked, peering over at her mother.

"Go ahead," Beckett said. "She's been waiting to ask this, actually her and Eliza."

"Could we call you uncle?" Julia said as soon as Lanie and Dylan were looking at her, directing the question to the latter.

"Of course," Dylan said quickly. He smiled when the two girls hugged him, and he said, "Hopefully you'll think of my niece as your cousin too."

"We don't know her," Eliza commented.

"Hold on," Lanie said. "Let us say hello to everyone else first." She turned to Beckett and embraced her, having seen Castle was holding Josie, and said, "How was it?"

"It suited you," Beckett said before they pulled away from each other. "I'm so happy for you both."

"Thank you," Lanie said before she watched her friend shaking her husband's hand. "Mind if I take Josie?" When Castle swiftly set the baby in her arms she cradled her, looking down at Josie for a moment before she suddenly started to sniff heavily, getting everyone's attention especially Beckett's.

"Happy?" she asked her friend.

"Yes," Lanie said, not surprised when her husband put his hand on her back and tried to hand her a handkerchief. She shook her head and said, "I'm alright." After taking a moment to calm down she then handed the baby back to Beckett and embraced Castle quickly before she was hugged by Alexis.

After the family had greeted Lanie and himself, Dylan said to them, "Now I can introduce you to my family. This is Agathe, my sister. Her husband Mark and my niece Hilda."

Shaking the hands of the couple after Lanie had introduced them, Beckett smiled at the year-old girl who was looking at them all seriously, holding onto her father's blazer tightly. "It's nice to meet you, Dylan talks about you often."

"I'm not surprised," Agatha replied. "Lanie's told us about you too; and the boys and Kevin's family."

Castle was about to speak when Lanie's mother came over to her daughter and murmured into her ear. He looked at his watch and realized they were taking a little long, so he wasn't surprised when the doctor turned to them and announced they were heading over to _Tavern on the Green_ for their lunch and informal reception. As they began to walk he looked around at their group and smiled at his wife, squeezing her hand for a moment before they turned their attention to their daughters as they neared the restaurant.

* * *

"I'd like to give a toast," Dylan said after he'd tapped his fork against his glass of wine. When Lanie grabbed his arm, he smiled at her and said, "I'm not going to stand," before he turned to the others around the tables in the room. "I just wanted to give a toast to my beautiful wife, the mother of our child. I have never been happier than I am today, and I owe everything to you for it. Thank you for becoming my wife and I will never stop repaying you for that honor. I love you Lanie."

Beckett felt her husband take her hand as her friend wrapped her arms around Dylan. Turning to Castle she gently squeezed his hand before she had to turn to Lanie as she was speaking.

"Thank you for everything Dylan," the doctor said. "I never thought I could find someone like you and I am so grateful I did, I love you."

While the couple kissed, Julia looked across the table where they were sitting at Tommy, not surprised to see him making a face. She had to smile at his reaction before she saw the other adults with them at the table were continuing their meal. "Is that all the toasts?" she murmured to her grandfather who was sitting in between him and Eliza.

"I think so," Jim said. "You're not hungry?"

"Yeah," Julia said, looking down at her food. She took a bite before she heard the cry of a baby and looked back to see that it Josie. "Where's Mom going?" she asked.

"To nurse your sister," Martha said from the other side of Eliza. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Nodding, though that wasn't what she'd asked, Julia turned her attention back to her meal again before she then saw Lanie getting up and walking away. She didn't think anything of it, so she turned to Alexis who was to her right, asking her and Louis about their townhouse.

Sitting on a bench in the restroom while she was nursing Josie, Beckett looked up in surprise as the door swung open. She was about to greet her friend when she stopped as Lanie rushed right by her. She murmured a little to Josie, though she was aware the baby wouldn't be able to hear the doctor as she was vomiting. "Lanie?" she called after a bit and some silence in the room.

"I'm fine, I think everything caught up with me," the woman said, stepping outside.

"You're not drinking ginger tea either," Beckett pointed out to her.

"I don't have it with me," Lanie said, sighing after she'd rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands. She sat down heavily next to her friend and studied the baby saying, "I couldn't drink this morning… I mean I wasn't nervous just…"

"Anxious?" Beckett suggested.

"Probably," Lanie replied before they were looking over at the door to find Skye stepping inside.

"Are you alright?" the investigator asked.

"I'm fine, just some morning sickness," Lanie explained.

"Also, your husband asked after you," Skye added.

"He asked you to come inside?" Lanie said in surprise.

"I was coming to check on you already," Skye said. She shrugged when the doctor still looked at her in surprise and said, "I suppose that's just instinct."

"Is everyone still eating?" Beckett asked, suddenly worried about her friend.

"They've finished and are talking now," Skye answered. "But your husband ordered you some soup."

Lanie smiled and said, "Where's my mother?"

"She's alright, speaking with Julia right now actually," Skye began. "Just as I was walking in. With both your parents."

Not surprised when Lanie looked at her, Beckett said, "Any idea what they're going to talk about?"

"I thought I heard her say New Orleans," Skye said.

"Oh no," Beckett said, trying not to laugh as well since she was switching Josie to her other breast. "I hope she's not asking about ghosts."

"I hope not too, my parents really don't believe," Lanie said.

"Do you?" Skye asked the doctor.

"One experience," Lanie replied, glancing at Beckett for a moment in hesitation. "At the Hotel Monteleone, there's supposed to be the ghost of a boy there. I didn't see anything but when you feel the cold like that… there has to be something."

"Most likely," Skye said. "But I've heard of that hotel, it's supposed to be really nice." Looking at Beckett she asked, "Let her see they're skeptics."

Turning her attention to her friend, Lanie saw that her friend looked troubled and said, "How did you know?" though she'd directed that to Skye.

"I know her," the investigator replied.

"Oh, you know what, that reminds me," Lanie said quickly. "Why the hell was I evil? And the boys too."

"How should we know," Skye said first, shrugging her shoulders. "It was just how you were. Luckily things are better this time around."

"That's true," Lanie said with a laugh. She looked at Josie and said, "I-"

"Go," Beckett said quickly. "Get something to eat and try to get some of the right tea."

Watching the doctor go Skye looked at Beckett and said with a smile, "It's funny though, how you've become friends here."

"I know but I don't usually think about it like that," she replied, watching Skye sit next to her.

"I'm surprised," the investigator said then.

"About?" Beckett asked when she didn't continue.

"Esposito," Skye replied.

"The fact that he's not close to getting married?" Beckett said. When her friend nodded she said, "That's how he's been."

"But you said he and Lanie had been dating for a while," Skye said.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "They'd had problems around two months before they broke up so…" She thought for a moment before she had to set Josie against her shoulder and proceeded to burp her before she said, "I think it's the commitment he doesn't want to face. Remember his father."

"I'd forgotten," Skye admitted. "At least he wasn't set against Dylan. Or this wedding."

"He wouldn't be like that," Beckett replied. "What was my husband doing when you got up to leave?"

"Talking to Dylan," Skye said with a smile. "He asked me to make sure you had a towel for when Josie was finished."

"Was Dylan alright?" Beckett asked after smiling for a moment.

"He was, remember he's a doctor so he's aware of the basics of what she might go through," Skye said. She became thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I think he left the table just as I was leaving the room, hopefully it was for tea as well as soup." She saw that Beckett was pulling Josie away from her and asked, "Would you like me to hold her?"

Handing her the baby, Beckett quickly fixed her sundress and standing said, "I'm really wondering if they're going to dance at least."

"Did you ask her about that?" Skye said.

"I haven't had the chance," Beckett replied, taking Josie back. "Something tells me no."

"What time is their flight?" Skye asked.

"At three," Beckett said.

"Oh… they need to go in about a half hour," Skye said, stunned.

"That was the point," Beckett replied with a smile. "So, we should go before they do." She wasn't surprised when Skye nodded in agreement and they left the restroom, hurrying over to the room where the lunch was seeing everyone was standing or sitting while they spoke. She looked for her husband and found her with Julia and Lanie's parents, making her way over to them quickly. When she was close her husband turned to her, and spotting her, she wasn't surprised at what he said the second she was standing next to him.

"Love, I just heard about the perfect hotel for us to stay in whenever we make it to New Orleans," Castle said quickly.

"Is it the Monteleone?" Beckett asked. When Castle looked at her in surprise she smiled and said, "Lanie mentioned it to me."

"It's a lovely hotel," Lanie's mother, Judith, said. "And we were telling Julia that there's a pool."

"It's on the roof," Lanie's father, Martin, added.

Smiling Beckett said, "I'd like to see it myself."

"Mom, there's a carousel," Julia said.

"It's a bar, so your kids won't be able to go unfortunately," Judith said.

"They may be able to peek in to look at it," Martin said.

"I think you sold it with the pool, we'll go there," Beckett said, smiling again. "When that is I don't know," she added as her husband and Julia were looking at her a little questioningly.

"They also said some places we can go see," the girl added.

"She seems very interested to go," Judith said.

"We all are," Beckett replied. "Did he mention to you we'd like to go on a trip around the country?"

"He did," Martin said first. "We tried to do that with Lanie when she was ten." He'd been looking at Beckett and when she nodded; to indicate she'd heard the story; he looked at Castle and Julia and said, "We only made it over to the Grand Canyon, but it was quite a trip."

"We'll go there," Castle said when Julia immediately looked up at him and Beckett. When Lanie's parents had excused themselves, he was about to ask his wife about that possible trip when Dylan was getting everyone's attention.

"I hate to cut this lunch short," the man said as the others looked at him. "But Lane and I need to go, or we'll miss out on our honeymoon."

Beckett hung back as the couple were surrounded by their guests, glancing at Castle and said, "We'll go straight home?"

"We have all our… you want to stop at the loft?" he asked in surprise as he could tell that she did.

"Just to change," Beckett said.

" _There's nothing wrong with what you have on_ ," Castle told her swiftly in Irish.

Smiling Beckett said, " _I want to be more comfortable_."

"Sure," Castle said quickly. He felt a small hand taking his own and he looked down at Eliza asking, "What is it sweetheart?"

"Aren't we gonna say goodbye to Auntie Lanie?" the little girl said.

"Of course," Beckett said first. "But I want to wait to say it once the others do."

"Even her mommy and daddy?" Eliza said in surprise.

Shaking her head Beckett told her, "Before her family says goodbye to her." She and Castle stood there with their daughters before they saw that Alexis, Martha and Jim were with the newlyweds. She hurried with Julia over to them, letting her oldest go so the girls could say goodbye first as she checked on Josie in Jim's arms while waiting.

"Have fun," Eliza said first to Lanie and Dylan as she was hugging the former around the waist.

"Do you want me to bring you two anything?" Lanie asked the little girl with a smile.

"Maybe something made from palm leaves?" Julia said as she and her sister shared a look.

"That's all?" Dylan asked.

When the girls nodded Lanie said, "We'll find something."

"Thank you," Eliza and Julia said at the same time before the latter was hugging Lanie at the same time.

"You're welcome girls," Lanie told them. She smiled watching them hug her husband and then turned to Castle, "So."

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Just because I'm married don't think I don't want you to stop looking after my girl and my nieces," Lanie told him firmly.

With a smile; though he knew she was serious; Castle said, "I was going to tell Dylan to look after you for Kate's sake." When the doctor started to laugh he hugged her quickly saying, "You made a very beautiful bride."

"And your wife?" Lanie asked pointedly.

Since the doctor was smiling slightly Castle said firmly, "Stunning."

"Okay," Beckett said, feeling her cheeks slightly heated. She then turned her attention to Lanie and embraced her tightly as their husbands were shaking hands.

"Would she say that?" Dylan asked.

"She would but she won't since I already did," Castle said in amusement before they turned to watch their wives.

"Take a lot of pictures," Beckett was telling the doctor.

"I will, I know you'll want to see," Lanie said reassuringly. "We probably won't see you before you leave for LA, will we?"

"I don't think so," Beckett replied. "Especially since you're going for a month."

Lanie smiled and then said, "We'll talk."

"We will, after the seventeenth next month," Beckett told her.

"We will," Lanie said before they hugged one another again and she smiled as her friend gave her another congratulation before they parted.

After Lanie's parents had said goodbye to the couple, the guests went outside and they watched the newlyweds drive away in a cab before they started to leave.

"Are you guys going home?" Esposito asked Beckett as he was walking with her and Castle.

"Yeah, after a quick stop at the loft," the latter said. "Do you have work on Monday?"

"I need to go in tomorrow," Esposito replied.

"Ryan?" Beckett asked. When the detective shook his head no she said, " _Anything_?" in Spanish.

Shaking his head, Esposito said, " _It's been quiet_."

"Thank you," Beckett said.

"Listen," Esposito said. "Since you're going to be busy before you go to LA we wanted to ask you about Skye's show."

"It's not her show but okay," Beckett said.

"If she gets to the final think you can get us tickets to it?" Esposito asked.

"I can ask Skye," Beckett replied.

"Who's we though?" Castle asked. "We have to know."

"Me and Lanie's insisting she can go and Dylan," Esposito replied.

"Lanie will be fine then," Beckett said with a sigh. "But what about Ryan? And Jenny?"

"Jenny wants to stay with Tommy; he's going into pre-school; and Ryan wants to stay with them," Esposito said.

"Makes sense," Castle said. "But we'll talk to Skye and I'm sure she'll ask whoever she needs to at the show."

"Alright, have a great trip," Esposito said, turning to them. "I said goodbye to the rest of your family," he told Beckett as they were exchanging a quick hug. "And have fun in LA."

"We'll keep in touch still," Beckett said firmly.

"I will too," Esposito said.

"Have a great summer," Castle said.

"I'll try to," Esposito replied with a smile before he said goodbye to them and hurried over to Ryan and his family to leave with them.

"So," Skye said, walking over to them with her family. "Are we heading to the Hamptons now?"

"You guys can," Castle said. "We're going to stop at the loft… How many times have I had to say that?" he said, directing the last to his wife.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett replied. "We're going to do that so you guys can go ahead of us," she said, turning to everyone else.

"Is anyone going to go with you?" Martha asked.

"I will," Julia said.

"Me too," Eliza added.

"And Josie," Beckett said.

"We'll follow you?" Mary asked Jim and Martha.

"Sure," the former replied before he turned to his daughter to hand her back the baby.

Since they were going to see one another shortly the group didn't really say goodbye, they wished each other a safe trip before they got into their cars and drove away from the park to make their way home.

* * *

"What do you think?" Skye asked Beckett.

"I really don't think they'll jump in," she said.

"You never know," Skye said. "Didn't you say Macca wasn't a fan of the water for a long time?"

"There are too many people in front of them right now," Beckett told her.

"True," Skye said before they laughed together. "How is she?" she then said.

"She's fine," Beckett replied, looking down at Josie who was nursing at that moment. They were back at home in the Hamptons and had been swimming for a while by then. Though the kids were mostly hyper with their time in the pool, she and several of the other adults were tired after their early mornings and the drive back to the house. She glanced at her husband as she pulled Josie away from her chest and then started to burp her, seeing that Castle was walking over to them. "Had enough?" she asked.

"For the time being," he said. "You don't have to leave," he said quickly, looking at Skye who was getting up.

"Don't worry," the investigator said with a smile. "I can see my girls looking over at me so I'm assuming they want me to join in."

Reaching over to Josie, Castle gently cupped the back of the baby's head and said, "Okay love?"

"I am, why?" Beckett asked in slight confusion.

"Just wondering," Castle replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Studying him, Beckett said, "What're you thinking of?"

"I'm that easy to read?" Castle asked wryly.

"Very," Beckett said with a smile. "Tell me."

"It's a memory," Castle explained.

"I knew that already," Beckett said.

Castle was about to begin his memory when he heard a cry of pain, looking with Beckett in surprise as they both realized it was Julia. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," the girl said in annoyance. "I scraped my knee on the side."

"Is it bleeding?" Beckett asked, reaching out to her.

"No but it's really red," Julia said, walking over to them at her mother's gesture. "Do I have to stop swimming?"

"No," Beckett said, studying the wound. "You'll be fine but when we're finished I want to clean it and get some ointment on it."

"Sure, and if you have another memory will you let me know?" Julia asked her father.

"How did you know I had one?" Castle asked.

"The way you looked at each other," Julia replied, kissing his cheek. She went to her mother and hugged her tightly before she kissed her cheek and went back to the pool.

"She's good," Castle commented.

Beckett laughed softly and then said, "She is but that doesn't mean you can get out of telling me."

"Alright," Castle said, nodding his head. He then said, glad he wouldn't need to lower his voice so the others couldn't hear, "It was during the war, the Second World War. I had to go down to LA, for some reason… I think my former sergeant wanted me along to film a movie for recruitment. It was '43 and you were working at the munitions factory but that day… January fifteenth, you were at home as you were waiting for me." He studied his wife and when she nodded to him he smiled, continuing with the vivid memory swiftly.

* * *

 _Waving to the neighbor who'd dropped him off in front of his home, Rick raced up the path to the front door. He had wanted to be quiet, but he was unable to be careful as the entered the porch and took a moment to shake out his umbrella. Once that was done he ducked into the house and said, "Kate," as he quickly found his wife sitting next to their radio, sewing._

 _"Rick!" she said in surprise. But that surprise turned rapidly into joy and Kate set the cloth in her hands in front of the radio, shutting it off so hard she nearly knocked it off its table. She ran to him and threw her arms around him, not caring that his coat was soaking wet._

 _"You'll get sick love," Rick whispered to her._

 _"I don't care," Kate replied before their lips sought each other fervently._

 _Rick could have spent some time with his wife as he was at that moment, but he knew he needed to get her off his wet clothes. "Come on," he told her as she looked annoyed._

 _Kate stopped him from going to the stairs, making him remove his coat before she hung it near the stove in the living room so it could dry. Once she was with him she kissed him again but they were much quicker so they could go up to their room. She wanted to ask him about his trip, but the way he was grasping at her tightly she couldn't bring herself to say yet. They'd been apart for two weeks and she had missed him greatly, so when he begged her to help him with his clothes she was hasty to assist. Feeling he was relatively dry under his blazer, she suddenly knew what he wanted and she became that much quicker to strip the clothing off him._

 _The second he was naked, Rick picked up his wife and nearly threw her onto their bed. As soon as she was settled he joined her and slipped his hand below her skirt. "I couldn't wait," he said slightly frustrated at the fact her clothes hadn't suddenly disappeared._

 _"It's alright," Kate told him before getting up. She stopped him from following her and said, "I know you enjoy watching." She cried out in surprise when her husband grabbed her, beginning to kiss her passionately as he clutched at her tightly. When he began to run his hands over her body she tried to stop him but he when he only moved to kiss at her neck she said with a gasp, "What's wrong?"_

 _"There were so many molls there Kate," Rick told her huskily, moving to whisper that against her lips. "They were looking at me, tried to get fresh too a few times. I just wanted you."_

 _"Rick…" Kate breathed as her husband moved to nibble at her ear. She then got a hold of herself and stopped him telling him, "Come on, help me."_

 _Rick was happy to get her clothes off for her, trying not to tear anything before she was as bare as he was. He picked her up again and tossed her very gently on the bed as she cried out in joy in response. Before she could do anything, he was on the bed with her, kissing her hard as he pressed his body to hers._

 _When her husband moved down her body Kate said, "You're not going to-"_

 _"Not that," Rick said quickly. "I was thinking about this the whole flight…" With that he moved to rest in between her legs and proceeded to pleasure her with his hands and mouth, driven wild by the way his wife reacted very vocally to him and hearing the stress of their separation before he made her reach her peak._

* * *

" _You did the same for me after_ ," Castle murmured to his wife in Irish. To make sure that Skye or Mary couldn't hear them he was right next to Beckett, his arm wrapped around her. He hadn't really needed to do the latter but since she wasn't protesting he didn't mind.

" _I know_ ," Beckett replied with a smile. She then said, " _But we were together after that_."

" _Yes_ …" Castle said. He then leaned into her more fully and murmured, " _We didn't have any protection_." When she nodded he then asked, "Menopause?" having to say that as quietly as he could.

" _Most likely_ ," Beckett replied with a smile. " _And after that_?"

Castle smiled and kissed her, unable to help it, before he said, " _Before I say I should let you know there is a bit with this that I can tell_ Julia _about but you're not there_."

" _I don't mind but wait until later for that_ ," Beckett told him.

" _I was planning on that_ ," Castle said.

" _And_?" Beckett asked when he was quiet after that, trying not to sound too annoyed as she knew already he was trying to tease her.

Not wanting to do that anymore, Castle brushed his lips to hers quickly before he said, " _We relaxed since we had the chance before getting up_ ," though he did go into detail more after that.

* * *

 _Holding his wife more securely against his side Rick could feel her fingers gently caressing his chest and he said, "What's wrong love?"_

 _"You said there were molls," Kate told him._

 _Shaking his head Rick said, "At the studio where we filmed. They seemed nice but so many were making eyes at me."_

 _"You're a Sheik," Kate told him, cuddling closer to him._

 _Making an annoyed sound in the back of his throat Rick then said, "I didn't care, just wanted to finish with everything and come home."_

 _Pushing herself up, Kate turned onto her stomach and then leaned down, brushing her lips to his. She did that a few more times before slowly pulling back and saying, "I missed you."_

 _"I missed you too my love," Rick said. He then smiled and said, "So much I wasn't very good."_

 _"Oh?" Kate asked with a smile._

 _"I touched myself," Rick replied._

 _"I did the same," Kate said easily. When he looked at her with slightly wide eyes she laughed softly and said, "It's like an itch that never ends."  
"Ab-so-lute-ly," Rick said in agreement. He smiled when she laughed, and they kissed each other deeply. When they needed to part he asked, "I hate to ask, but what about the girls?"_

 _"They'll be home… soon enough," Kate said. "Oh, it's well past time for lunch." She brushed her lips against his and said, "We should go."_

 _Though he wanted to keep her with him, Rick followed her off the bed and into a fresh change of clothes. While they were dressing he saw his wife was looking at him with a frown and he asked, "What is it?"_

 _"Where's your bag?" Kate asked._

 _"On the porch," Rick said with a smile. "I was in a rush."_

 _"You were," Kate said, smiling back at him. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before taking his hand as they were ready._

 _"I've missed your hair down," Rick couldn't help telling her._

 _"I can't do that in the factory," Kate replied. By then they'd reached the kitchen and she set out to make them a quick lunch of sandwiches before they sat together at the table. "Was it like this in Los Angeles?" she asked her husband as he helped her into her chair, glancing at the window looking to the side of the house._

 _Shaking his head Rick said as he sat down, "It was sunny skies. If we didn't have family here I'd take you and the girls down there."_

 _"I prefer it here," Kate said with a smile. They began to eat and finally she asked, "What did you do when you weren't at that studio?"_

 _"I explored a bit," Rick began. "I went to see the beach, not all that different from here but I didn't see any as secluded as ours." He then smiled and said, "You'll never believe who I saw on the beach at Santa Monica."_

 _"Who?" Kate asked with a shrug as she'd never be able to guess._

 _"Julia," Rick said._

 _"She was there?" Kate asked in shock._

 _"She was looking for me," Rick replied with a smile. "And she'd asked my old sergeant where I might be at the studio. Luckily I told him I was going to the beach."_

 _"How is she?" Kate asked with a sigh, suddenly missing their oldest daughter terribly. Since she'd joined the WASPs they hadn't seen her at home for nearly a year by then and she found letters as well as the occasional phone call wasn't enough._

 _"She's very happy," Rick replied. "She has a friend with her in the program, Marianne; Mari; but she wasn't there. Julia just told me about her. But she said she misses her ma and sisters something awful."_

 _Smiling, as she could hear their daughter telling him that, Kate asked, "Does she know when she might come home?"_

 _"Not until Christmas at least," Rick said. He reached over and placed his hand on his wife's at her obvious disappointment saying, "She thought the same. She'll try to come home sooner but if she can't it'll be Christmas." He wasn't surprised when she still looked disappointed and gently brushed his lips over her cheek before he began to regale her about what he and Julia had managed to do that late afternoon and evening they had together._

* * *

" _That's what you want to tell her_?" Beckett asked with a smile, still speaking in Irish.

Nodding Castle said, " _But there's more to what I'm telling you_."

" _Then by all means continue_ ," Beckett replied, looking down at Josie who was asleep in her arms.

Castle pressed his lips to his wife's temple as he gently squeezed the baby's shoulder with his hand. When he'd pulled away he said, " _We talked through lunch and then afterwards as we cleaned up together. Since it was still raining we couldn't go out onto the porch as we did when the weather was good. We stayed in the living room together for some time after that_."

" _What did we do_?" Beckett asked with a smile on her face.

" _You know already_ ," Castle said, reaching up to her and gently running his hand over her hair.

" _Tell me still_ ," Beckett replied seriously as his arm wrapped around her again and she listened to him continue about their afternoon.

* * *

 _"For you love," Rick said, walking into the room._

 _Looking up in surprise, Kate turned her attention to her husband's hands and gasped slightly when she saw the silver necklace in his hands with a teardrop pendant of a blue topaz hanging from it. "But Rick…" she said a little weakly._

 _"It wanted to be on your neck," he said with a wide smile. Rick sat next to her and then draped it around her before closing it. "I found it around the restaurant where I had dinner a few times."_

 _"Thank you," Kate said, reaching down and touching the jewel carefully. She smiled at him and then reached over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly before they kissed._

 _When they'd stopped Rick moved to her neck and said lovingly, "I thought of you over and over Kate."_

 _"I did the same," she assured him. She gently moved him away from her, smiling as she said, "The girls will be here soon."_

 _Nodding, though he was very disappointed, Rick asked, "What're you making?"_

 _"A new skirt," Kate answered, holding it up for her husband to see._

 _"That's swell love," Rick said quickly._

 _"Thank you, Alexandra brought the fabric to my attention," Kate said, running her hand over the fabric on her lap. It was a deep blue color with a plaid of white and grey. "It'll go with my necklace," she said with a smile at him._

 _Nodding rapidly, Rick smiled at his wife's laugh and then kissed the side of her head before murmuring into her hair, "Dance with me."_

 _With a smile, Kate set aside the fabric immediately and stood to go over to the middle of the room. Wrapping her arms around him she leaned against him as they began to sway together to the Glen Miller song that was playing from their radio. She smiled as his hands rubbed over her back and she pressed her cheek to his before she nuzzled her lips against his. "Rick…" she breathed out in joy._

 _With a slight turn of his head, Rick captured his wife's lips with his own and they began to kiss slowly, sensuously until they needed to breathe. That was done quickly before they came back together and kissed again. They'd stopped dancing by then, and he was reaching behind her for the zipper on the back of her dress when a news bulletin jolted them apart. "Damn," he muttered a little angrily._

 _"Don't worry," Kate said, brushing her lips against his. "You're back and we have more than enough time."_

 _Kissing her firmly on the lips Rick said, "I suppose it's time for the girls," as he reached into his vest pocket with one hand and pulled out his pocket watch. "They'll be here soon… you're not going to get them?" he said suddenly as he looked out at the rain._

 _Kate merely smiled at her husband before she went over to the kitchen and then the lean-to where she got her coat and tied a scarf onto her head. "I would never have them walk out in this." She then paused and said, "It wasn't raining down in Los Angeles?"_

 _"No," Rick promised as he knew she was asking about their oldest. "It does rain though, but Julia knows to stay out of it," he added reassuringly. He smiled as he told her, "I said she needed to keep her feet dry."_

 _With a soft laugh Kate nodded and then waited for her husband; who had on his coat and hat; to open the door and then the umbrella in his hand. They ran to the garage together carefully through the rain, huddled together under the protection of the umbrella. "I missed that," she confessed to him._

 _"So did I," Rick replied before they got into their Studebaker President Club. He started it up and pulling out of the garage said, "Any chance I can escort my wife and girls to dinner tonight?"_

 _"You wouldn't want a homecooked meal?" Kate said as she leaned against him._

 _"Tomorrow," Rick said. "I want to treat my girls."_

 _With a slight smile Kate nodded and then said, "Alright." They were soon after at the girls' schools that were across the street from each other and they could see their three youngest standing together underneath an umbrella._

 _Honking the horn to get their attention, Rick reached over to Kate and stopped her from moving saying, "They can come in on my side."_

 _Nodding her head, Kate watched the girls hurry up to the car and she then watched as the three got in, smiling as they'd each hugged their father in passing. "Hello girls," she told them once they were settled._

 _"Hello Ma," the three said at almost the same time._

 _"Did you get very wet?" Kate asked them._

 _"No," Alexandra said first. "You got here quick."_

 _"Is the war over Da?" Josephine asked hopefully as Rick was back in the car._

 _"I'm afraid not honey," he said. "We're going to get there though." As he pulled away from the school he then said, "I forgot love, I bought more war bonds."_

 _"Good," Kate said. "And another thing girls, we're going to dinner so you'll have to do your homework in a jiffy."_

 _"I will," Elizabeth said._

 _"Me too," Alexandra nodded._

 _"I'm so happy you're home Da," Josephine said, wrapping her arms around Rick's neck._

 _"Sit back honey," Kate admonished gently. When their youngest was sitting back she squeezed her husband's arm tightly before she looked ahead of them._

 _Arriving at home Rick parked quickly in the garage before he said, "I'll take your ma in first."_

 _"No," Kate said simply._

 _"But-" Rick started to say._

 _"I want them inside first love," Kate said firmly._

 _For a moment Rick thought he should tell her she should be inside first but could tell by the look on her face that it would be pointless to do. So he nodded and then hurried out to get the girls when he saw that Josephine and Elizabeth were already leaving. He recovered quickly form the shock of seeing them out in the rain, since he recalled they didn't have a key to the house and hurried with Alexandra under the other umbrella. Once he had all three girls safely inside he jogged back swiftly to his wife who was waiting and said with a smile, "Ready?"_

 _"Yes," Kate said as she took his hand and they went across the yard together as fast as they could until they were on the steps and he was leaving her in the house to return to close the garage._

 _After the door was shut Rick went back inside and once he'd hung his coat he went over to his family, gathered in the kitchen. He smiled at the sight of the girls around the round table there before turned his attention to his wife at the stove and he walked straight to her. Close to her he stopped when she turned to him and placed her hand on his chest, asking him a question before he could kiss her as he'd been hoping to do._

 _"They want to hear as much about your trip as they can," Kate explained to him with a smile. "And I want them to do their homework."_

 _Nodding Rick then held her, pulling her to him to kiss her gently before he turned to the table and sat with the girls. "I'll tell you the same that I told your ma," he said to them._

 _"Was it pretty there Da?" Josephine asked._

 _"Beautiful," Rick replied. He glanced over at his wife and said, "We should go after the war."_

 _"We can try," Kate said, nodding her head as she set the kettle full of water on the stove._

 _"The studio was something to see," Rick then said, turning his attention to their daughters who were soon listening to him eagerly. "All these buildings just to film whatever's in the movies…"_


	29. I'll Be Coming On Home (Part 2)

" _Confundo_!" Eliza cried.

"I don't think that's the right spell," Castle said, watching as all the other kids started to walk around looking up at the ceiling.

"What do I say?" Eliza asked softly.

"Here," Skye said, reaching to the little girl. She took the wand she held and said, " _Finite Incantem_ … have to finish that spell or you'll have no one to play with," to Eliza. "Try this one," she said before whispering into the little girl's ear.

Nodding Eliza hurried over quickly to Ivy and said, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," the little girl said quickly.

Standing across from her Eliza waited for her mother to count and she cried out, " _Expelliarmus_!"

" _Rictusempra_!" Ivy cried out before they laughed together. "Who was that?" she asked.

"I think it was a tie," Castle said. "Your spells went right into the walls behind you."

Hearing the chime for the door in the fence Beckett told the kids, "That's our guests. Now there are a little too many of you here so why don't you play something else besides dueling with them?"

After the kids had agreed to that Castle went with his wife over to the foyer where he pressed the button for the intercom. "David?" he asked.

"And us," Brad said.

Pressing the button to let them in quickly, Castle said to his wife, "They parked outside?"

"I think so," Beckett said, surprised the Davises hadn't driven their car in. They stepped out onto the porch and she said with a smile, "You guys aren't feeling lazy?" as she saw the Davises first.

"No," Lily replied. "They're wearing their robes, so we actually walked here," she explained, nodding over to Eve and Jacob.

"Did Julia text you?" Beckett asked the two.

"Me," Eve said with a smile. "She said Ivy and Iris have robes?"

"They're wearing Mari and Julia's spares even though they're not in Ravenclaw," Beckett said, looking over at the little girl.

"Julia said she wanted to play with them and they didn't have robes," Mari said with a wide smile on her face.

"Alright, let's go inside so we can have dinner and they can play," Beckett said to the adults.

Going to her friend Lily said, "Are they swimming again?"

"Did you want them to go?" Beckett asked her.

"They want to go," Lily replied. "But they wanted to play the Harry Potter thing too."

"Swim first and then let them play," Castle said. "But I get the feeling they'd forget once they start to swim."

"True, how much do you need to do until we eat?" Lily asked.

"Not that much but I'm sure they'll take advantage of it," Beckett said in amusement as the kids were rushing inside.

"We brought some things to help out with dinner," David said as Castle was closing the front door.

"You didn't need to," Beckett said, leading the way to the kitchen.

"We wanted to help out," Rebecca said. "Watch out I'm headed for the freezer," she told everyone before she hurried ahead to the fridge.

"Gelato," David said at the others' glances to him. "Mango strawberry and then rocky road."

"How would both taste?" Castle asked his wife.

Shaking her head Beckett touched his back and then went to the fridge, taking out the first of two plates of sandwiches that she and Castle had made. She quickly noticed that Lily was hovering around her and she said wryly, "Can I help you?"

"I'm just seeing what you did," the cook said.

"What did you do?" Brad asked, studying the sandwiches on the second plate.

" _Jibarito_ ," Castle said. "We're trying it out and if you don't like it we have another plate of club sandwiches."

"What's the bread?" David asked.

"That's plantain," Beckett said. When he looked at her with wide eyes she shrugged and said, "Ask him it was his idea."

"Sorry but it looked really good," Castle said when everyone looked at him. "And I apologize in advance if it doesn't work out."

"It might," Lily said, not surprised when her husband turned to her. "Plantain is starchy and the way he fried it, it won't be sweet."

"Skye fried them actually," Castle said, nodding to the woman who was walking down to them with Mary.

"Hullo everyone," the investigator said with a smile.

"Hey, how're the kids doing in there?" Rebecca asked.

"Good but some of them are talking about being hungry," Skye said. "A number of them our kids."

"You have the most here so that's not a surprise," Castle pointed out.

"Where are we eating?" Skye asked.

"By the pool," Beckett said.

"How're you guys getting your kids out of their robes before we go?" David asked jokingly.

"They'll take them off once you tell them we're going swimming when we're done," Skye commented.

"She's right," Beckett said with a smile. "Go ahead and get started."

"And your kids?" Lily asked.

"Our parents are going to take care of them," Castle told them. When the other parents left he looked at his wife and said, "Think Mari told her?"

"Yes, and since there's been no dramatic reaction she's not too upset," Beckett replied. She then hesitated and said, "I hope."

Nodding in agreement Castle picked up the plates while his wife went to get the tray with plates and some glasses before they headed outside through the door in the kitchen.

"Are you sure you're gonna leave tomorrow?" Julia was asking Mari.

"Yeah," the little girl said apologetically. "I'm so sorry Julia but Mommy and Daddy want us to go soon since we're leaving on Friday. But we'll be back really fast."

"I hope so," Julia said seriously. When her friend nodded she smiled and then handed her wand and robe to her grandfather who'd come around to get it. "It's funny," she said as she took her best friend's hand and they headed to the door outside. "Friday's Josa's birthday."

"She's gonna be three months?" Mari asked as she knew what Julia was talking about.

Nodding the girl said, "We're not really gonna do anything though, but she's getting bigger."

"Yeah, so is Sophie," Eve said, walking behind them.

"Definitely," Julia said, smiling back at her. "She is sleeping all through the night now right?"

"Yep, good thing," Eve replied.

Down at the pool, Julia looked at the special sandwiches that her father and Skye had made, and she smiled saying, "Those are bananas that aren't sweet."

"Really?" Jacob asked as he'd joined them in time to hear that.

"Yep, they've got chicken and regular sandwich stuff," Julia added.

"Regular to us," Beckett said, coming over with a pitcher of lemonade.

"Oh, yeah," Julia said. She glanced at the pool and then asked, "We can't go in the pool now?"

"No," Beckett said quickly. She wasn't surprised when all the kids; except for the babies; groaned in disappointment and she said, "Stay on the steps alright?"

"We will," Julia said eagerly.

Beckett smiled and shook her head as the eleven kids who could step into the water rushed to do so. She turned to her husband and saw he and her father were bringing the last things they needed, and she said, "Good thing they have the steps."

"I know," Castle told his wife with a smile. He looked at the kids, talking to each other, and said, "You want to do the honors, or should I?"

"How about Skye?" Mary said.

"Why me?" the investigator replied. When her wife looked at her pointedly Skye shook her head but was then calling to the kids for them to eat, watching them get out quickly. They sat down together around the table; though some of the kids were standing; and she wasn't surprised when Castle was getting everyone's attention.

"I'm not really giving a toast," he told them. "Just wanted to say _bon voyage_ to our sailors."

"What're we in the Navy?" David asked jokingly.

"I have a hat Daddy," Mari pointed out.

Laughing Rebecca said, "Thank you," to Castle before she spoke again. "We'd been thinking of inviting you guys."

"Would we have fit on the boat?" Brad asked. When the couple shook their heads he smiled and said, "Then it worked out."

"It did," David said. "You don't think you'll get another murder before Friday, do you?"

Shaking his head Brad said, "I'll be able to go," before looking pointedly at the kids who were watching them while they were starting to eat.

"Yeah…" David said quickly. "So we'll sail down until Monday and then slowly make our way up."

"You'll get here on Thursday?" Beckett asked.

"We will," Rebecca replied. "And we'll be fine going down to Florida the next day."

"I can't wait," Mari said eagerly.

With some laughter, the group turned their attention to eating before they were complimenting Castle and Skye on the sandwiches.

"I'll have to find the recipes for these," Lily commented.

"Something new for the menu?" Beckett asked.

Nodding Lily said, "Something different too, I've never had these before. Definitely never had anything with plantains as the bread."

"Luckily they're sturdy," Mary said.

"Luckily," Castle said with a laugh. "I had my doubts."

"Have you worked with plantains before?" Lily asked the investigator.

"Oh sure," Skye replied. She saw the others looking at her and said, "A crash in Puerto Rico; where do you think I learned to fry them?"

"How though?" Lily asked.

"I stayed at a home at the village near the crash site one night," Skye replied. "I learned then. But I never have made a sandwich out of them."

"You should again Mummy," Marie said.

"I will," Skye promised.

When the sandwiches were finished and the kids were full they hurried to get off their outer clothes that were covers for their bathing suits. When they were fully immersed they started to play, on their own until their family were coming in after them and they began to swim together.

* * *

"Watch out," Castle told the kids later that evening.

"We can go on that?" Jacob asked interestedly.

"Yeah but you need to take turns," Castle said as he placed the raft down.

"Can the babies go on this?" Iris was asking Skye, swimming with her.

"I suppose, that'd be up to their mums and dads," the investigator replied.

"Can we go on?" Iris whispered.

"Sure, Ivy," Skye called to the girl's twin.

"Will you go with us?" Iris asked, grasping her hand.

"Sure," Skye said with a smile. "We should get one of these," she told Mary.

"That's right, you guys don't have one," Beckett said, walking past them to the stairs.

"No," Skye replied, looking down at Josie who was in her friend's arms. "She's not asleep."

"No but she will be," Beckett replied.

"Now?" Skye asked, watching Iris and then Ivy peer at the baby.

"No, we'll stay another twenty minutes or so and then head to the house to give her a very quick bath before she's going to bed," Beckett said.

"Enjoy the time you have left little Josie," Skye told the baby before she took the twins and they went together over to the raft where Eliza, Dani and Fleur were slipping off into the water with Castle and David's help.

"We have to leave soon too," Lily replied.

"You could stay," Beckett said, she and her friend holding their babies as they sat on the steps.

Shaking her head Lily said, "I don't want to move her around when she falls asleep."

"What about Jake and Eve?" Beckett asked.

"They're coming home," Lily said. "I know they would want to stay and swim later, but I don't think you're going to do that, also they'll have sleepovers like crazy in Orlando."

"That's true," Beckett replied before looking out on the pool. She was about to ask her friend if she knew what hers and Brad's room looked like at Universal before her husband walked up to them.

"Are we going inside?" Castle asked his wife, moving to sit next to her.

"Not yet but I told Lily soon," Beckett replied, not surprised when he reached over to Josie and let the baby take his hand.

"Brad mentioned you guys would be going back soon," Castle said to the woman.

"We are," Lily replied with a smile. "Though it was a great dinner."

"But?" Beckett asked, studying her.

Laughing briefly Lily then said, "Not a but, more a speaking of dinner. We want you guys to come over tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's not a problem and we haven't had you guys over for a while," Lily said.

"There are a lot of us though," Castle replied.

"That doesn't matter," Brad said. He wasn't surprised when Beckett and Castle both looked at him and said, "That's what Lils said."

"It doesn't," Lily said firmly. "So bring everyone over."

"She's right," Beckett told her husband.

"I know," Castle said as they were both aware already of the chef's ability to cook for a large group. "Then we'll be there."

"At five," Brad said.

"At five," Beckett echoed with a smile.

With that Castle and Beckett were left alone as Brad and Lily got out of the pool and they stayed on the steps until he looked at his watch and showed it to his wife.

"We're going inside," Beckett said as they stood up together. "Dad, Martha, you can start bringing them in in about ten minutes."

"We'll join them," Skye said, not surprised when Beckett was looking at her.

"So will we," Brad said.

With that set Castle followed his wife up to the house and inside he hurried to past her to prepare the bath for her while she was walking around the kitchen. "Okay, we're ready," he said.

Setting Josie down on the towel that was on the counter Beckett said, "Go ahead."

Startled for a moment, Castle said, as he was going to Josie to undress her, "Are you going back to the pool?"

"Of course not," Beckett replied, smiling down at the baby who was yawning. "I'll stay with you, I'm just letting you take her."

Nodding Castle placed Josie into the water in her tub and he then immediately began to run water over her, loving the way she cooed in response to him. "You're going to love it when we go to Disney World. Everyone's going to be with you and there'll be a lot of pools." When his wife laughed softly while handing him the shampoo he added to the baby, "And your mom will be there; very important of course."

Giving him a quick look Beckett watched him washing Josie's hair before she said, "We'll have to go back at some point."

"I know," Castle said. "I don't mind."

"Believe me I don't either," Beckett said in amusement. "But for now, I just hope she'll be okay traveling."

"She will," Castle reassured her firmly. He rinsed Josie's hair before he was washing her body with soap, just rinsing her off when he heard the door to the backyard open before he took the baby out while Beckett went to see if their daughters had been coaxed out of the pool.

"Can we go swimming tomorrow," Eliza said, racing to her mother as soon as she spotted her.

"We'll see," Beckett said in amusement. "You guys are going?" she asked as she could tell from the way Brad and Lily were walking up to them that that was likely the case.

"We need to, we need to give Sophie a bath too," the latter explained. "But we'll see you tomorrow."

"At five like you said," Castle commented as he was going after the group over to the entry.

"We're going over?" Julia asked.

"For dinner," Castle explained. He watched his wife hug Lily before she did the same to Brad; who was holding Sophie; though carefully and he shook both their hands. "You can come over if you'd like tomorrow; after we see the Fosters off."

"We'll see how things go," Brad said as he looked at his and Lily's kids.

After the family had said goodbye to everyone and had left, the Fosters were doing the same since they were leaving in the morning the next day. Once they were alone the two families parted, Castle and Beckett going upstairs and the others going to the family room to spend the rest of their night together.

* * *

"Any reason why we're in the living room?" Beckett asked as she and Skye walked into the room together.

"This was your husband's… request," the investigator replied before looking behind them. "Ready?" Skye asked her wife.

"I am," Mary said, putting her bass guitar over her shoulders. She played a few chords and said, "It's just the one song, right?"

"It is, I don't want to wake up the kids," Skye explained.

"This is an X rated song, isn't it?" Beckett asked, looking at her husband when he was the last to enter the room.

"I don't even know any," Castle said in protest.

"Though we know plenty of X rated movies," Skye said. She smiled when the couple paused, and she told them, "Sorry, it was a nice set up."

"I guess it was," Beckett said, laughing.

"Can you play it?" Castle asked the two.

"We can," Skye said, playing a few keys. "You're sure your parents won't wake up either?"

"I don't think they're asleep," Beckett said. "At least my father isn't."

"I'm not sure about my mother," Castle said.

"What is it?" Beckett said, seeing the thoughtful expression on her husband's face.

"Well… we were talking about going to the beach tomorrow after we see the Fosters off," Castle replied, speaking slowly. "What if we went from the marina to the family fun center?"

"For Julia?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she said, "I like the idea. What about you guys?"

"I'm all for it," Skye said.

"We don't think Ivy and Iris went there with their father," Mary said with a smile. "I think we'll head out too."

"Now we just need to ask our parents," Castle commented. "And the Davises. And since both can be done tomorrow we can listen to this song."

"Good roundabout way of asking us to start," Skye said in amusement. "Go ahead," she said to her wife.

Playing the bass, Mary did that for a while before she looked over at Skye before she began to play the piano. It took them a bit longer before her wife started to sing while she was looking over at her at the same time, both forgetting Castle and Beckett as she had to sing backup with Skye.

 _Well the night was beautiful and mellow, mellow  
And the light of the night fell on me, fell on me  
You said right, made me a happy fellow, fellow  
And the light of the night fell on me_

Since she recognized the song immediately, Beckett reached for her husband's hand and held it tightly, feeling him entwining their fingers. She smiled at him and squeezed gently before looking back at Skye as she began to sing again.

 _I never will forget the night  
I held you close, I held you tight  
Oh, darling don't you know_

 _The way you made my senses reel?  
I fell in love and now I feel  
Like I will never go  
Oh, little darling don't you know  
That the night was marvelous and yellow, yellow  
And the light of the night fell on me_

At the instrumental there Mary began to play on her bass while Skye was making vocalizations before singing one lyric on her own.

 _And the light of the night fell on me_

Shortly after that Mary smiled at Skye and they began to sing, with her taking the background once more for the next lyrics.

 _I never will forget the way  
You taught me how to swing and sway  
Oh, darling don't you know  
That ever since that special day  
My mind can only contemplate  
The magic that you show  
Oh, little darling don't you know  
That the night is beautiful and yellow, yellow  
And the light of the night fell on me  
Yeah, the light of the night fell on me_

The last lyric Skye stretched out as much as she could as Paul had done in the recording while Mary was singing, "Fell on me," repeatedly. And when she finally stopped playing the piano she laughed as there was silence after that. "You guys had enough?" she asked them.

"No, just seeing if you're going to play that song any longer," Castle said jokingly. He reluctantly let go of his wife's hand and said, "I guess it's time to go to bed."

"It is," Mary said, setting her guitar on top of the piano. "Is that alright?" she asked the two.

"It is," Beckett said, going over to Skye. She hugged her and then said, "Thank you for playing that though."

"Thank your husband for thinking of it," the investigator replied with a smile. "But it was fun to get to play it. Goodnight," she said.

"Goodnight," Castle and Beckett said together, watching the women leave. When they were alone they looked at one another before they grabbed hands and walked rapidly out of the room before they almost raced up the stairs, ducking into their bedroom before the door was locked and closed behind them. Beckett was going to tell her husband she wanted them to do what they'd talked about the night before when suddenly he was stopping her abruptly to her surprise.

Hearing the short cry of his wife as soon as he picked her up, Castle knew she likely thought he was taking her to the bed. But he went around it and set her down in front of the table behind it saying, "Too obvious."

"I wouldn't have minded it," Beckett replied with a smile, keeping her arms around her husband's neck. She leaned into him and kissed him gently before she said, "Are you going to get under my skirt?"

"I'd like to," Castle said. He watched her become thoughtful before she let him go and he could only look on while she reached underneath her dress she'd put back on and removed her bikini bottoms. "What happened to the bra?" he asked as he could tell she was then naked underneath the dress.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett said simply, making him help her onto the table.

Sliding his hands along the sides of her thighs, pushing the skirt up as much as he could, Castle said, "I guess you're right." He then reached for her, kissing her as hard as he possibly could as he pulled her to him. With her legs wrapped around his waist he reached for the zipper and tugged it down before he pulled away. "This is really annoying you know," he breathed to her.

"Better it stays," Beckett replied. She smiled when her husband pulled back to look into her eyes and she moved to take her dress off her shoulders. When it fell to her waist she nearly smirked at her husband grabbing her and pulling her off the table. He was carrying her with her legs still wrapped around his waist and she said, "You're lucky it's not far."

Castle didn't verbally reply to that, instead he just set her on the bed so he could get her dress off her before it was tossed aside. He was relieved when she started to reach for his shirt, glad he only had that and his trunks on before he was as naked as she was. Getting on top of her on the bed he kissed around her shoulders and then went down to her abdomen, looking up at her at the same time to see her reaction.

Holding her breath, Beckett reached down to her husband and gently cupped the back of his head as he was kissing all around her skin. She bit at her lower lip when he started to flick his tongue out to her and she managed to say, "What are you… going to do?"

Raising his head Castle said, "Prepare you." He wasn't surprised when she shook her head and moved to push himself back up to her, kissing her tenderly on the lips before she was deepening it. He lay fully on her body then, both groaning into the kiss when their hips pressed together. He stopped them and said, "Is that enough?"

"More than enough," Beckett replied, putting her hands on his hips and pressing him down. She was relieved when he didn't try to delay things and moved until he was sliding inside of her, to her heavy gasp of pleasure.

When he was still Castle lead out a heady groan and said, "You're so wet… how long have you been like this?"

"Long enough," Beckett said, her voice sounding strained. "And you're… how long have you been this hard?"

"A while," Castle nearly hissed before he began to move. He loved the way his wife cried out in joy and arched her back before he settled into his thrusting more steadily. Though she couldn't really move that much he still felt the sensation of her sliding against him and he swore under his breath before he crushed his lips against hers.

Beckett had her legs wrapped around his waist and she reached up to hold onto his neck with one arm. Her other hand was grasping on the sheet below her body, closing her eyes tightly and she continued to cry out in response to each time he sank inside her. He was differing his thrusts and she moved her right hand to his back, gripping it tightly and feeling a rush of arousal at how his muscles were flexing under her touch before they were suddenly moving.

Managing to get on his knees after a slight adjustment, Castle cupped the side of her neck and kissed her hard. They weren't moving as all their attention went to that kiss and he used the time to run his hands over her back and ass, cupping the latter when they'd torn themselves away from each other. "Kate…" he breathed out huskily, trailing his lips along her jaw until he reached her ear.

Feeling her entire body throbbing and aching, Beckett clutched tightly to her husband until he moved to the space below her ear, nipping very gently at it. She let out a soft moan before she realized he was running his hands slowly down her ass, making her shudder momentarily at the sensation of heat it provided. " _Coinnigh orm_ ," she whispered to him, moving her legs from around his waist as she'd told him to hold onto her. As he was grasping her ass still she began to move, pushing herself up and down once before she then began to roll her hips a few times.

"Ah… love… fucking goddess," Castle hissed to her as her movements were pushing and pulling on his erection in ways she didn't usually do. " _Tá tú chomh maith_ ," he told her when she started to push herself up and down, telling her that she was so good. He moved to her neck, kissing around it before she moved to kiss his lips, squeezing at her skin as his hands were moving all around her back and ass. When they parted he murmured, " _Ba mhaith liom_ …"

"Yes," Beckett moaned to her husband. She cried out as he slapped her ass firmly and kissed him, his unfinished question being if she wanted him to. When he slapped her again she was grabbing at him before he turned them again and she was wrapping her legs around him.

Since they'd already done that before Castle didn't keep them in the position for very long, pulling away from her completely until he was kissing over her abdomen. "What do you want?" he asked her.

Sitting up, Beckett pushed her husband aside so she could get off the bed at the end of it before she reached for his hand. When he followed her, she led him over to the windows and leaned against one before he pressed against her while he kissed her slowly and sensuously. After they parted she smiled when he pressed his forehead to hers and murmured, "I wanted you to fuck me."

"Good," was all Castle said in response before he picked her up. With her legs wrapped around him tightly so she was secure he started to thrust, not entering her just yet.

"Rick! Inside of me! Fuck my pussy… oh love… fuck me!" Beckett started to say before he was sliding into her. She cried out heavily and then held onto his shoulders while he was thrusting hard before she said heatedly into his ear, "Fuck my pussy as hard as you can Rick… as hard as you can with your cock… Oh don't… stop."

"I won't," Castle groaned, glad he had the leverage to take her as hard as he was. But he didn't let that last for very long, helping her down after several minutes so he could take her back to the bed. When she tried to make him stop he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her murmuring into her ear, "I'll take your pussy love, don't worry." He nipped at her earlobe and then told her, "My cock is aching for it. Let me show you." He knew his wife was wondering what he meant, so he moved quickly that way he could do what he'd promised.

Finding herself on her knees on his side of the bed, Beckett found she didn't really have much cause to protest as he was very quickly sliding inside of her. She cried out as he was swiftly beginning to thrust and she closed her eyes tightly, moving her hips as hard as she could with the control she had available to her then. She reached behind her with her right hand as the left was holding onto the bed, and she felt her husband's hand running down her stomach. "Don't… don't make me come here," she gasped out as he gently rubbed at her clit.

"I won't," Castle said, pulling his hand away from her reluctantly. He kissed at her neck through her hair a few times before he took her hands and placed them on the bed, covering them with his. He only allowed himself a few more thrusts before he was pulling away from her again, groaning in his frustration and telling her, "Table?"

"No, let's just stay on the bed," Beckett told him, not surprised her voice sounded like it was desperate since she was. She got up onto the mattress with him and they began to kiss passionately while he was helping her lay on her back. She parted her legs for him and sighed as he slid smoothly into her once more. "Thank you," she told him.

"Thank you," Castle said before he started to thrust hard. He watched her as she cried out and moaned loudly and was suddenly going crazy, moving them around. First he had her above him while he remained laying down but didn't keep to that for very long as he was pushing himself up.

Kissing her husband Beckett wondered if they were actually rolling around the bed though she didn't think that were possible. Luckily, they managed to stop at the edges of it as they continued to move around the mattress, switching their position rapidly. As time passed she became a little lost in how their arms and legs were, just aware of their bodies being in different places before she grabbed his shoulders hard as he placed her on her back. "Don't move… I'm going to come Rick… please," she begged him.

"I won't," Castle promised as he'd been able to tell they were both weakening in fighting the pleasure within them. He angled his hips a little more down before he slammed into her, watching her crying out and reaching above her to try to grab onto something. "Come Kate, now, my goddess. I'll fucking worship you the rest of the night, just come now."

For a moment Beckett teetered over the brink before she finally allowed her pleasure to take over. Breaking she nearly screamed her husband's name and she felt her back arching, so much so that she was surprised her head wasn't flat on the pillow under her. The ecstasy was so intense it took her husband starting to orgasm with her to break the way her head was spinning, and she held onto him as tightly as she could while they rode out their climaxes together. She was able to calm down first finally and just lay there to enjoy the feel of her husband still thrusting in her. When he finally stopped after a few hard thrusts she stroked his hair tenderly before she was about to speak when her husband did so at the same time he moved them both.

"We're not stopping," Castle said huskily. When his wife shook her head, he leaned down and took her lips with his, kissing her tenderly before they parted slowly. "We weren't fans of this position then either," as she was sitting up while he remained laying down.

"I know," Beckett said with a smile. She brushed her lips to his once he was sitting up and then said, "You said we weren't stopping." She wasn't surprised when her husband pulled away from her and she said, "It's not going to take me that long to be ready for you; I've already started."

"I still want to make the effort," Castle told her firmly.

"You just want to touch me," Beckett shot back as she was allowing him to get her to lay back down with him before wrapping his arm around her. When he raised and lowered his eyebrows a few times rapidly she rolled her eyes saying, "Pervert," though there wasn't much annoyance in her tone.

"I love you," Castle said seriously.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett said before they began to kiss passionately. As they were doing that her husband's hand was reaching around and fondling her clit, making her moan into his mouth before she reached up to him and cupped his cheek the best she could. As he continued to pleasure her she reached for him, realizing they had done the same thing in their past lives when they'd been reunited after his trip to LA. Though she'd tried to hold onto the memory, it was a little lost as Castle was soon after pulling her onto him and they began to make love roughly as she let that take her over gladly.

* * *

 _Breathing heavily, Kate felt her husband cupping her breast with his hand before he then moved to pull her onto her side against him. "Are we still catching up?" she asked her husband as she could feel him touching her firmly._

 _"I think we should," Rick replied easily. "You don't think so?"_

 _Kate's reply was to move so she could kiss him, not surprised when her husband held onto her tightly. She reached in between them, gently clasping his length in her hand before she said, "I wholeheartedly agree."_

 _"Wonderful," Rick breathed out, already reacting to her. He moved her away and then got up, going off the bed as she was following him swiftly. When she wrapped her arms around his neck he had to pause in his plans while they kissed but he didn't mind, taking the time to do that thoroughly before they parted. "Here," he told her, leading her over to the dresser._

 _"Hmm, wonderful idea," Kate said with a smile, cupping his cheek with her hand before they were kissing again. She waited for him to grab a towel, climbing onto it once he put it on top of the furniture and she could sit there without moving. When he touched her legs to spread them wide she waited again for him to step up to her which luckily didn't take long. Wrapping her legs around him firmly she watched him slide inside of her though she couldn't see the actual act. She didn't mind, letting him start to thrust shortly after to their groans of absolute joy._

 _Their love making was a bit furious, Rick and Kate kissing each other hungrily and touching one another intimately until they broke at almost the same time. Once they were stopping Kate pressed her lips to her husband's gently before he moved away and then helped her down._

 _"You- you don't have to!" Kate exclaimed in surprise when her husband picked her up before her feet were all that firmly down on the ground._

 _"I'd like to," Rick replied. He smiled at her and said, "You did want to get to bed, didn't you?"_

 _"Oh I did," Kate replied, her voice becoming seductive as she reached out to touch him again. When he shuddered and then quickly got onto the mattress after that she straddled him with her knees before they kissed passionately. She touched him leisurely while he was doing the same to her breasts and when she felt his fingers were down around her clit she broke away from him. "Wait…" she gasped out heavily. When he stopped she brushed her lips against his before he then turned her around. With them both on their knees she thought he might make love to her, but he was instead pressing against her and cupping her mound with his hand._

 _"Tell me what you want my love," Rick told her, nibbling at her ear._

 _"Oh… You," Kate moaned heavily as he was moving his fingers slowly around her. When her husband went down to her shoulder and began to kiss around it she was breathing far more heavily before Rick then moved her carefully to lay her down on her back. "Oh Rick… please," she whispered to him as he raised himself above her and then lowered his entire body to hers._

* * *

With a strangled moan Beckett nearly collapsed onto the table that was in front of her, taking the chance to feel her husband continuing to thrust inside her. Clutching at the edge of the table she could feel it was starting to hurt since she was gripping so tightly. She swore heavily when Castle gave her one last thrust before he slumped against her and she smiled briefly saying, "You needed that still."

"After what you told me what we did back then… yes," Castle said, standing up fully as he spoke the last word. "That and I did want to use this."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with another smile. She then looked at her husband; since he'd slowly withdrawn from her; and said, "It's a surprise though we were doing that even back then."

"I don't think so," Castle said. When his wife looked at him questioningly he tried to explain saying, "We liked to move around? We were in the tub and realized we could use any flat surface," speeding up in his speech as he realized that.

"We did," Beckett said, stopping her husband from moving her around to the bed.

"So we enjoyed our night," Castle said. When his wife nodded he then asked, "What is it?"

"I'm just… feeling you," Beckett said, giving him a look that dared him to say a smart-ass comment.

"Probably better we get back on the bed for that," Castle said seriously. He tried to take her to the bed and that time she went with him before they got up on the mattress. He wrapped her up in his arms and said, "When we fell asleep I was holding you just like this."

"Hmm, and I was in the same status," Beckett said.

"We had to catch up," Castle said, watching her hand that was moving in between her legs and knowing she was touching her folds. When she nodded he then leaned over to her so he could kiss her hungrily holding her hand before he felt her leg draping over both of his. He was tempted to ask her if she wanted to make love again when she ended the kiss first and he held her to him a little tighter.

"I can't stop," Beckett whispered to him. "But we need to."

"We do," Castle said, sighing heavily. "But let me do this," he told her before he tugged her onto his body. As she lay fully on him he told her, "We would do this too."

"I was aware," Beckett told him with a smile. "How much did we slow down as we got older?" Beckett asked him, smiling again.

"I think it took a while for us to do that completely," Castle replied before he began to stroke her hair. " _You loved everything I did to you_ ," he told her in Irish.

" _I still do_ ," Beckett replied with a smile.

"Yeah," Castle said, sliding his fingers through her hair so he could cup the back of her head at the same time. When she lowered her head to his he was swift to respond to her kiss and ran his free hand around her back repeatedly until she pulled away. "If we're going to sleep you need to get off me."

"Not that way?" Beckett asked him, tracing his lips with her index finger.

"If you want to," Castle told her.

Beckett fought with her indecision for a moment before she suddenly rolled onto her back and pulled Castle on top of her. They began to make love and she let her worry about time and the next day disappear as she took in everything her husband was giving to her while she tried to give back to him. When she climaxed it was surprisingly rough, but she didn't fight it as he was following her very quickly and their shared ecstasy left her conscious only of him and their bodies. When they parted she was disappointed when he left her but moved so she could press against his side while he wrapped his arm around her tightly again. "That was perfect," she breathed as she lay her cheek against his shoulder.

"It was," Castle replied firmly, not mentioning she'd said that the same night they'd been recalling in their past lives. He already knew she was aware of it, so he turned to her and murmured, "Just a little more."

At first Beckett thought he meant to make love with her again when he was suddenly turning her onto her back and kissing her before she was fully settled. She relaxed as he was keeping his body off hers and knew he wanted to just kiss her. As soon as their first kiss ended she whispered she loved him in Irish, hearing Castle responding huskily in turn. Their lips crushed together shortly after and she relished the intimacy as they showed their love for one another while the night continued without any concern about time from them.


	30. Epilogue- Looking Out Into Space

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: As it says this chapter is the epilogue so that's it for this story. But I have another story ready to go, if anyone wants to read it look out for it in a couple days!

A/N #2: The paint colors named in this chapter are real and I got them from the Sherwin-Williams website. The app to apply colors is from there as well and was used writing this chapter.

A/N #3: The lyrics in this chapter are from the songs _The Times They Are a-Changin'_ by Bob Dylan, from his album of the same name; and _Spirits of Ancient Egypt_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Wings album _Venus and Mars_.

A/N #4: I was wondering at the response I'd get for the last chapter, so to read what I got was great and I'll get to my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I was so happy that you thought Lanie and Dylan's wedding was really sweet. I'm not surprised that you were sympathizing with Lanie and her morning sickness, or that you're hoping her honeymoon will be a breeze for her. And yeah, since Dylan's a doctor too he would understand. Not surprised too that you loved the flashbacks, or that you were wondering if I was going to write Julia in the past life going home for Christmas. And I also wasn't surprised at your comments on Castle and Beckett at the intimacy in the past life flashback after being separated for two weeks. Lol, you're right things never change. I'm so happy that you enjoyed how the second set of twins get along with all the kids; I figured the other kids would just include them so it would seem like they all grew up together. So, so pleased that you thought the love scenes in both past and future were tastefully written. And of course, nice to see that you can't wait to read about the trips and DWTS! Glad to read you thought it was great writing as usual!),

Mb (Happy to read you too thought it was a beautiful wedding for Lanie and Dylan; I definitely wanted it to be. I wasn't surprised that you too felt bad for Lanie having morning sickness at her wedding reception. Glad you laughed at Eliza picking up on how Gates was acting with Castle and then asking him if was okay and giving him a hug. Great you thought it was beautiful! I'm glad of course you loved the flashback. And not surprised you too thought that in the past life 2 weeks apart would drive Castle and Beckett crazy. I'm really happy you enjoyed everything in that flashback too, Julia in the WASPs, seeing Castle in LA and Mari being there too and Julia being able to go home for Christmas. Nice to see you thought it was a great filler chapter showing them at the wedding and then at home with friends. You're welcome for the first half! I wasn't surprised you found the second half was fantastic, amazing and sweet before moving to loving, sexy and hot. I'm glad that you love Skye, Mary and their daughters staying at the beach house so the younger twins can adjust to their new life. And not surprised you mentioned their past lives as well as it being the family they were supposed to be with. I also wasn't surprised you thought it was good to see the Fosters and Davises there as they're truly family along with the McDouglases, also glad you thought that too! I was really pleased that you thought the flashbacks added more richness to the story of their lives since I love putting those in. I did have to laugh at you saying the song that Castle asked Skye and Mary to sing wasn't exactly needed to put them in the mood since those two couples don't need that to get their sexy going as you put it, lol. Really happy that you thought Castle and Beckett were sensual, loving and got in both the past and present and I agree, there's not other way they can be and there's no other way to write it! You're welcome for the second half too!),

TORONTOSUN (It was really nice to see that you liked how I wrote Lanie and Dylan's wedding. And that you thought it was good writing too! And with the second half of the chapter I was happy that you thought it was good writing there again!) and

vetgirlmx (So nice to see that you thought the chapter was really good! And I'm so happy that you thought it was the perfect wedding for Lanie. The few guests and more intimate setting just seemed to work for her for some reason, lol. I'm glad that you thought the bit where Dylan agreed to becoming the girls' uncle was a very sweet moment; I intended that to be like that. I wasn't surprised to see you commenting on Gates and how she was when they saw her. And I definitely agree with you about her warming up a tiny little bit towards him since she's not seeing him in her station; and she's going to retire soon so that helps too, lol. Not surprised you're hoping Skye makes it to the final episode of the show, lol, so Esposito goes. I did have to laugh at you mentioning they got together with the family again to have dinner together. And I suppose they would have rested a bit before the dinner, that would have helped; though you do make a point about the kids not needing much supervision now. Glad you think already that the next day's get together should be fun. No surprise you mentioned the vacation that'll be a few days after that, lol. But I'm so, so happy that you really can't wait for it too and now you don't need to anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading all of them as usual and I am grateful for the time taken to write them and send them my way! Also thank you for the reviews, favorites and followers for this story in the past and possibly in the future, I appreciate all it!

A/N #5: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Like a Ship_ by the Traveling Wilburys, from their album _The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1_.

Looking Out Into Space

"What're you gonna do?"

"What?" Beckett asked, looking at her oldest, slightly startled as she'd come up behind her.

"While we're golfing," Julia said simply.

"You don't want me to?" Beckett asked her.

"Oh… I didn't think you would," Julia replied. She looked at Josie in her stroller and said, "Outside?"

"We're playing inside," Castle said, walking over to them and handing one of the golf clubs he'd gotten buying their game to his wife. "Which is why she can play."

"I hate it's so sticky," Julia said with a frown, glancing out of the family fun center building. She thought for a moment and asked, "We can go outside for the bumper boats, right?"

"Your little sister already asked," Beckett replied. "Not Josie," she said quickly as Julia started to open her mouth. "She remembered them."

"Hard to forget them," the girl replied with a wide smile. She looked outside again and then asked her father, "Think it's gonna rain?" as she took his hand so they could follow the McDouglases and Davises to the start of the regular golf course that was indoors.

"My knee is telling me it probably will," Castle replied.

"I thought that was more for snow," Alexis said with a smile. When her father gave a slight frown and shake of his head she was just able to keep the smile on her face before Julia went over to the other kids and Skye. "Dad?" she asked in concern.

"It's nothing," Castle replied quickly, glancing around them to see Beckett was talking to their parents. When he looked back at his oldest he saw she was frowning and he told her soothingly, "It's just a little… wonky."

"It's nothing serious, is it?" Alexis asked.

"Oh no," Castle replied. "I might need a sturdier brace but it's fine." He watched her nod before Alexis went over to Louis, going with him to help the investigator with the kids. He nearly jumped when he felt a punch to his shoulder, looking to his left and terrified it was his wife.

"You might want to tell her about that," Brad said simply.

"Not now," Castle said slightly impatiently.

"No but at some point," Brad replied.

Sighing Castle shook his head before he looked at his wife in surprise as she walked up to them. "And Josie?" he asked her.

"Your mom is staying with her," Beckett said. "It's not obvious?"

"We can take her," Castle said.

"She said she doesn't mind," Beckett told him reassuringly. "And they're already starting."

Looking over at the first hole with Brad, Castle said, "How did they figure that out?" as they could see Iris was going first.

"I'm sure Skye and Mary got them to decide," Beckett said wryly as they followed the chief and her father followed her.

"Very nice," Skye said to Ivy as she went after her twin. "You're both naturals."

"But we didn't get the…" Iris started to say before she looked at the other kids.

"Hole in one," Eve said first.

"Not everyone can get that every time," Alexis told the twins.

"What you got was really good still," Kathleen said.

Seeing that everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with that Ivy said, "Are you going to go?" speaking to Fleur.

Watching the kids go Jim said to his daughter, son in law and Brad, "Is it just me or does our group get bigger every time Skye's with us."

"I'm not planning on continuously adopting kids," the investigator herself said. "Five is more than enough," she added before she smiled at Fleur and walked over to her.

With so many of them it took some time before Castle and Beckett were taking their turn. They didn't mind though as it allowed them to talk with their daughters and eventually Lily who joined them though she had declined to play.

"How's Sophie?" Beckett asked her friend.

"She's fine but I'm a little-" Lily began.

"She'll be alright with them both," Castle said firmly, knowing what the woman was unsure about. "And isn't Sophie asleep?"

"Josie too actually," Lily said. "Alright, you convinced me."

"You mean my mother didn't already?" Castle said.

Not surprised her friend glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before she left them, Beckett said, "Hopefully those naps will last for a while."

"I know," Castle said. "She's good with kids but I'm not sure if she will be if they're both awake and need to be fed."

"What if she'd had twins?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, good thing she didn't," Castle replied.

Beckett rolled her eyes quickly before she looked at the golf course and saw Eliza was looking down at a pond. "Eliza," she said firmly to her daughter to call her over.

Looking up, the little girl hurried over to her mother and wrapped her arms around her tightly. "Are you having fun Mommy?" Eliza asked, looking up at her.

"I am, you seem to be a little quiet," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of her head.

"I miss Dani, she could play too," Eliza replied.

"She could but she's having fun with her family," Beckett assured her.

"How come Jules is so happy?" Eliza asked.

"I still miss Mari," Julia said. "But they want us to have fun too."

"They do," Beckett said when the little girl looked up at her. She wasn't surprised when Eliza went over to the other kids as they were moving to the eighteenth hole by then. Before her oldest could pass her, she wrapped her arm around Julia, waiting for her to speak as she could tell that she was thinking.

"Should I really send Mari pictures?" Julia asked her mother, looking up at her. "Can she see them?"

"She asked you to?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Julia replied with a nod.

"They don't have wi-fi on their boat so you don't really need to take any if you don't want to," Beckett replied, knowing that was what she was thinking of. "Now go so you can take your turn."

"I thought she would have felt bad about coming here," Brad said, standing next to her.

"No, she's aware of how much Mari loves her trips on the yacht," Beckett said with a smile.

"They could have invited Julia; she's like family," Brad commented.

"Yes, but they want to keep these trips between the four of them," Beckett replied. "What?" she asked as Skye had walked up to them.

"Now I feel bad we're invading your home," the investigator said.

"You're not invading," Beckett said wryly, rolling her eyes. "And we're on our own a lot of the year so I'm not concerned about our family; if that's what you were getting at."

"So you say," Skye said, glancing over at the hole. "Kids all deserted us," she commented.

Looking over herself Beckett saw her husband walking to them and she was about to ask why they; including Alexis and Louis; hadn't stayed when he started speaking before reaching them.

"They're taking back their clubs and going right to the arcade," Castle explained.

"Why?" Lily asked.

"I get the feeling they don't want to wait for us," Mary said in amusement. "We should go though; shouldn't keep our kids waiting."

"Are we still going in order of age?" Castle said.

"Stop looking at me," Brad said in mock annoyance.

"Go ahead Skye," Beckett said in amusement since her husband was the younger of the two by a week.

After hitting it into the gate the investigator said, "Oh well, though I suppose I could have given you my free game," looking at Beckett as she came over next.

"It doesn't really matter," she said, a little startled when her friend leaned into her.

"What are they doing?" Brad said.

"Conspiring. Stop that," Castle said in faux annoyance.

"Just having a bit of a chat," Skye commented, walking away from Beckett to let her take her shot.

"Oh sure, with that accent I can't tell if you're being serious or not," Castle said.

"I have to go through that too," Mary said. She laughed when her wife stepped right up to her and began whispering in her ear.

"That's sweet," Lily said to Beckett as she went up to take her turn next.

"It is," she replied. Beckett then went to her husband and said, "So if I take on an accent I'll freak you out?"

"Definitely," Castle said before he smiled at her.

Beckett shook her head, though she was smiling as well, and then watched Lily taking her turn. Mary went quickly after that before her husband was going next and she watched to see if Skye would end up doing what she'd mentioned to her.

Castle took a moment to aim before he pulled back his club a little bit when he suddenly heard, "Hey he's no looker, look at that-" Looking at Skye who was talking like an auctioneer in an exaggerated British accent he said, "Hey, leave me alone," though there wasn't any anger in his voice as he was already starting to laugh.

"I think you spoke too soon," Beckett said with a laugh.

"I decided that was better," Skye said, smiling at Castle. "Go ahead," she then told him.

Not taking his eyes off her, Castle stood as he'd been before, waiting and when the investigator waved to him he took his shot but didn't manage to get the free game either. "I tried," he told his wife once he was standing with her.

"Oh, I know; great job," Beckett told him with a smile. She glanced at him when he wrapped his arm around her and said, " _Be careful_."

" _What do you think I'm going to do_?" Castle asked, speaking in Irish as well.

Beckett didn't reply to that, she merely patted his chest before they walked after the others as Brad had gone. "Hopefully we'll do better at the arcade," she said.

"Shouldn't that be our kids doing that?" Lily asked.

"I think they're going to play air hockey," Beckett said with a smile as she glanced at her husband.

"Oh no, please don't kill each other's fingers over that," Lily said. "We wives need those," she said under her breath, looking ahead of them at Skye and Mary.

"I think we need them as well," Brad said.

Shaking his head Castle said, "So what about lunch?"

"I think we're going to have to go," Beckett said, looking over at Skye and Mary and seeing their five girls were clamoring around them. She smiled as Julia and Eliza were looking for them and she took her husband's hand before they headed over to the rest of their family.

"We're eating right now," Beckett told the two reassuringly. She smiled at them and said, "Are you very hungry?"

"I am," Eliza said, nodding her head rapidly as she held her arms up to her mother. Once she was on Beckett's hip she asked, "We get to play after, right?"

"Of course," Castle said first. "But how would you like-" he began before he felt Julia pat his arm with her hand. Looking down at her he was surprised when she pointed over to the nearest window. "Oh, I guess that's it for the outside stuff," he commented.

"Ooh," Eliza said in disappointment as it was raining. She smiled when her mother kissed her cheek and turned to her to kiss her. "We get to play here still?"

"You will," Beckett said with a soft laugh, not surprised she was still worried. "Come on, let's go see what we'll have."

As they walked over to the café Castle held Julia's hand and he let her go with his mother and Jim to what would be their table, checking on Josie quickly with his wife before they went to get in line. As they waited and looked at the menu he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly to get her attention.

"What?" Beckett asked, looking at him in surprise.

"Think I could tell them the about when I saw Julia in LA?" Castle said. "While we eat," he added.

Thinking about that for a moment Beckett said, "Why are you even asking?"

"Just to warn you," Castle replied. He smiled when she laughed and then kissed her cheek; unable to help it; before they turned their attention to ordering so they could go back to their table. When they were there with their food he was about to ask the girls if they minded hearing a story, though it would be broken up by him eating, when Julia stopped him with a smile.

"What were you and Mom talking about?" the girl asked.

"Just that I forgot to tell you a story yesterday," Castle said. "And would you mind hearing it now?"

"Is it about our past life?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Good guess and it is," Castle replied.

"I want to know," Julia said quickly.

"Me too," Eliza added.

"Alright, so it was in 1942 and I was in LA by myself," Castle began with. "And I was on the beach when someone surprised me," he said, smiling at Julia.

* * *

 _"Da!" a voice called out behind Rick, making him almost whirl around. "Julia?" he said in surprise._

 _"Da!" Julia said as she reached her father and threw her arms around him tightly._

 _Embracing her Rick said, "I didn't know you'd be here."_

 _"I'm here for training," Julia replied once they'd parted. She smiled and said, "It took me forever to find you, but I finally did. How is Ma? How're Elizabeth and-"_

 _"Hold on," Rick said with a smile as he knew she would list all her siblings. "Your ma and sisters are fine, but they miss you of course. As did I." He hugged her again and said, "How long are you here?"_

 _"Just today, I leave in the morning for… I leave in the morning," Julia started to say before she stopped herself._

 _"Well I have the day free, spend it with me?" Rick asked her._

 _"Of course," Julia replied with a wide smile, looping her arm through her father's when he held it out to her. They walked off the beach together and she said, "What're you gonna do now Da?"_

 _"We'll head over to the pier," Rick said, pointing to it. "But you can't walk in those glad rags."_

 _Julia smiled and then corrected him saying, "Threads Da, in my threads."_

 _"Well you know what I mean," Rick said. He smiled when she laughed, and they made their way around to the pier before they discovered it was closed since it was privately owned._

 _"I know where we can go Da," Julia said. She pulled him over to the street and they went up a couple of them before they reached a street lined with shops. "Mari told me about this."_

 _"Mari?" Rick asked, looking over at her._

* * *

"I knew Mari there? I mean then?" Julia said, having to quickly correct herself.

"You did, but I'm not quite getting the details besides that," Castle said slowly.

"Keep going Daddy!" Eliza said eagerly.

"I am," Castle replied with a smile. "So we went to some shops and then found a bookstore which we looked through together."

* * *

 _"Da," Julia said, walking over to her father. "I think Elizabeth will like this book."_

 _"Nancy Drew?" Rick asked, looking at the book. "A little young for her now but I know Josephine will love this one. This is the newest?"_

 _"It is, tell her it's from me when you see her," Julia said with a smile. She then showed him another book and said, "For Elizabeth since I thought she might not read Nancy Drew anymore."_

 _"_ The Robber Bridegroom _? Your ma might want to read it herself to see how that goes," Rick said. "But that's fine. Could you find anything for Alexandra?"_

 _"This one, she always wanted a copy of it," Julia told him, showing him the copy of the first Wizard of Oz book._

 _"And you?" Rick asked, seeing that she had a book herself. He took the tome that she was holding and smiled at the title,_ The Phantom Lady _, saying, "Your ma read it and so did I, and it's swell."_

 _"I'm glad to hear that Da," Julia said. "Mari said she read it and it was the cat's pajamas."_

 _Rick smiled and then took the books to the front of the store, buying them before he took the bag that they were put into. When they were outside he said, "Want to head back to my hotel?"_

 _"Where're you staying?" Julia asked._

 _"The Beverley Hills," Rick answered. When he saw his daughter was looking at him with wide eyes he smiled and said, "I thought the same, but looks like they wanted to put me up in a posh place."_

 _Nodding Julia said, "I'll go."_

 _Rick laughed, and he went out to the street searching it for a taxi before he hailed the first that was free. The drive back to the hotel seemed to go quickly before they reached it and he paid quickly so they could head up to the building. Once they were in his room he wasn't surprised when his daughter went straight to the window. "See those buildings over there?" he asked her._

 _"The red roofs?" Julia said in response._

 _"Yeah, Howard Hughes himself is there right now," Rick replied, standing next to her._

 _"Which one?" Julia asked._

 _"I heard tell he's taken six of them," Rick said. When his daughter looked at him with wide eyes he shrugged and said, "I also heard that he asks for sandwiches in a nook in a tree."_

 _"Why?" Julia said._

 _"I don't think he wants to be disturbed," Rick replied. "Now, let's go on out to eat alright?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said with a wide smile, reaching for her father and taking his arm again and they left to go to the restaurant on the ground floor below._

* * *

"We spent time at the pool after eating," Castle told the girls with a smile. "Until you needed to go Julia. But before that I did give you your birthday gift from us."

"What was it?" Eliza asked.

"I don't know," Castle admitted. "I guess it's not something that I can see yet."

"And we're finished," Beckett let the girls know. "We can go ahead and play."

"I can't wait," Eliza said immediately.

"Stay with us," Castle said as he was watching her closely.

Eliza nodded and then went to her mother who was checking on Josie, slipping her hand into her pocket.

"Hold on sweetie," Beckett said with a smile. "We're going right now."

"Kay," Eliza said, looking over at the arcade longingly. She started to become a little impatient as it felt like it was taking too long to leave the tables when she cried out as she was suddenly picked up.

"You wanted to go, didn't you?" Castle asked her jokingly before he held her on his hip, walking over to the arcade after Julia and his mother and father in law.

"Yeah, I wanna play all the games," Eliza said eagerly. "I wanna play the skeeball and then…"

As the little girl seemed to be intent on relating her plan for the arcade Castle couldn't help looking at his wife next to him who was smiling. He reached over to her and took her hand, squeezing it gently before they turned their attention to their daughters and the games in front of them, their excitement infectious.

* * *

"I don't care what you say Kate," Lily was telling her friend as she put Sophie into her carrier. "I feel bad we're back at your house yet again."

"You really shouldn't," Beckett said, glancing quickly at Josie to make sure the baby was still asleep. Once she was she said, "Rick got this home with the idea that he'd be hosting parties here."

"Though this-" Lily started to say.

"And then gatherings once he realized I preferred a smaller crowd," Beckett said with a smile, not surprised at her friend making sure of what she meant.

"Does he mind that?" Lily asked. "Smaller crowds?"

"No, which was a surprise, but I think he likes the fact he can speak with good friends and not have to talk to anyone he doesn't really want to," Beckett replied. "Which is also why he's alright with having everyone here again. And really you're the only ones who weren't here already."

"Okay, okay," Lily said with a laugh before she saw that Martha was coming over to them. "Are you going to head into the water?" she asked the woman.

"No, no," Castle's mother said with a smile. "I'm going to urge you both to head down to the water with your children."

"But-" Lily began.

"She's serious," Beckett interrupted her. "We should take advantage of that." She leaned over and pressed a kiss to Josie's forehead before she got up and waited for Lily to follow her. Walking down to the water she saw her husband going up to the shore with their girls and she smiled as she prepared for the two who were soon running up to her exclaiming at the same time.

"Are you gonna go swimming?" Julia asked first.

"I was planning on it," Beckett replied, running her hands over the backs of their heads at the same time. "But let me go out for a second on my own."

After she and her sister nodded, Julia watched with her sister as their parents went into the water together. She felt Eliza tugging on her hand and looked at her saying, "What?"

"Are they gonna go kiss?" the little girl said.

"No, I think they really want to swim," Julia replied. She then looked up at the sky and with a smile said, "I'm glad it stopped raining."

"Me too," Eliza said happily before she looked over at all the kids that were at their house. "We're not gonna go play?"

"If you want to you can but I'm gonna wait to swim with Mom," Julia replied.

Nodding her head Eliza took off her vest and then raced over to Fleur who was starting to look for shells.

"We're gonna build a castle, want to do that?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah," Eliza said eagerly, looking around for shells herself.

When they'd stopped swimming, Beckett said to her husband, "I thought they might chase after us."

"Me too but they might- oh wait, Eliza ran off with Fleur," Castle started to say before he cut himself off and spotted their middle daughter with Skye's middle daughter.

Scanning the shore for Julia, Beckett soon saw that their oldest was starting to swim to them and she pointed that out to her husband. "Did you get bored?" she called when the girl was close.

"No, just tired of waiting," Julia said teasingly as she smiled. "You take too long."

"We were taking a rest," Castle said quickly. He ducked under the water for a moment and then said to his wife, "Head back?"

"Look!" Julia gasped in joy before she hurriedly pointed ahead of them.

Turning towards where she'd indicated, Castle and Beckett saw what she had, a group of dolphins a little away from them. Neither were surprised when their daughter started swimming after them and they were swift to follow her.

"Julia wait," Castle finally called. "I don't think you're going to be able to catch up to them."

Sighing, Julia stopped swimming and said, "I wanted to pet one."

"Someday you will," Castle told her.

"I will," Julia asked.

Seeing his wife was looking at him Castle quickly explained, "I'm sure one day we'll head to somewhere that has dolphins to interact with. I'd like to go there."

"Me too," Julia commented.

Laughing Beckett said, "I'm really not surprised. But that was nice to get to see. We should head back though, all our guests are on the shore still."  
"Okay," Julia said. Before they could start swimming back she said, "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No, you just need to stay with us this far out," Beckett replied.

"This is cool," Julia said after she'd looked around them.

Castle laughed with his wife at that before they urged their daughter to go back to shore. He swam behind the two until they were walking and said, "Now what should we do?"

"They're all busy," Beckett said with a smile, watching as the kids; except for the two youngest who were asleep in their carriers; were working all together on their sandcastle. "I guess just visit with friends."

"Speaking of friends," Skye said, walking up to them with Mary.

"Hey, there's something I wanted to ask you," Beckett told them both.

"Yeah?" Mary said.

"Will you ever give them your guys' last name?" Beckett asked, keeping her voice down though the kids were all talking together.

"They'll have it already," Skye said. She wasn't startled when the two looked at her in surprise and explained, "When we adopted them they had them. They're aware of it and seem to be alright with it which is a relief of course."

Nodding Beckett said, "I'd been wondering."

"I'm not surprised," Skye said. "But it was also our choice."

"And they didn't mind?" Castle asked.

Shaking her head, Skye looked at Lily and Brad who were coming up to them and said, "They realized they were going to be with us from now on and they seem to admire me-"

"You're selling yourself short," Brad commented. "They seem to rely on you."

"I guess so," Skye said. "But they did want to be part of the family; just not fully of course."

"They might," Beckett said, knowing her friend was referencing the twins calling them their mothers.

Nodding Mary said, "But we can wait." She glanced around at the kids and said, "Just like they can wait for this trip."

With some laughter, the adults headed out into the water after making sure that Alexis and Louis were with them; the pair having gone to swim themselves. They soon paired off with their spouses and spent some time enjoying the water while their children watched them on and off during their building.

"You know it's odd," Louis was saying to Alexis.

"What?" she asked in surprise.

"No just how they so obviously love the two," Louis commented, nodding over to Ivy and Iris. "And yet they won't call them mum."

"They had their father," Alexis said gently, glad they weren't close to the two.

"True," Louis said. He then frowned and said; seeing his girlfriend looking at him pointedly; "I just wonder about your sister."

"Shh," Alexis said gently, squeezing his hand gently. "I don't want to talk about that now."

"Sorry," Louis said contritely. When his girlfriend leaned over and kissed his cheek he smiled as he knew he was forgiven. "Well then what would you like to talk about? Since they're only going to let us watch them and not help."

"Our place," Alexis replied with a smile. "And the fact we're moving once we're back."

"I know," Louis said absently, looking out at the ocean. "Quite amazing we'll have a home all to our own."

Alexis laughed softly at the obvious amazement on his face and she leaned against him to kiss him again before they turned their attention to the kids. She couldn't help thinking of their condo their parents had bought for them and how they'd gone through it together two weeks before to make sure that everything was ready for them to move into in August once their vacation was over.

* * *

 _"I'm a little worried," Beckett told her stepdaughter. "You just look at pictures and you take it?"_

 _"David knows the owner," Alexis assured her. "Or the previous owner. And he still knows her, so she'd have a lot to answer to if anything was wrong."_

 _"I guess we should thank him for looking around," Beckett said with a sigh. "We weren't expecting this to be on sale so quickly."_

 _"Fully furnished it would be," Castle commented as he and Louis came inside. "And congratulations, it's yours," he told his daughter, dropping one set of keys in her hand before giving the other to the young man._

 _"Thank you, Dad," Alexis said, hurrying over to him and hugging him tightly around the neck._

 _"You're welcome," Castle said with a smile at his wife._

 _"And you Kate," Alexis then told her stepmother, embracing her._

 _"You're welcome, just make sure you stay in touch with us," Beckett said._

 _"We said we wouldn't move until August," Louis commented before he shook Castle's hand and then Beckett's._

 _"You could do that now if you'd like," Castle said._

 _"We'd like to make some changes Dad," Alexis said slowly._

 _"What?" Castle said, wondering why she was so hesitant exactly._

 _"Let's go inside and we'll talk about it," Alexis told them. She went to the door of the condo they were in front of and she said, "But nothing that expensive Dad, I promise."_

 _"Just go in," Castle said jokingly before he followed Louis and his wife. He glanced around the entry and nodded saying, "It's spacious considering it's a condo."_

 _"It is," Alexis said. "But I think you see the problem we have with this already," she said while studying her father and stepmother._

 _"The walls?" Beckett said. When the young woman nodded she smiled and said, "I confessed to your dad that was my problem with the beach house."_

 _"So just paint?" Castle asked._

 _"It is but one more… two more things," Alexis said. "But that'll come in a second. Come and see the kitchen."_

 _"You like the couch?" Beckett said, studying the furniture in the family room._

 _"I do, we're thinking of painting this and the kitchen in a green color," Louis replied. "What shade we don't know yet."_

 _"You have time to decide," Castle said before they came to the kitchen._

 _"You had another color in mind?" Louis said, looking at her._

 _"There's a reason I brought my laptop," Alexis said._

 _"I showed her the program that lets you apply paint colors to rooms, she's taken pictures of these," Beckett confessed. "Why don't we look at this room?"_

 _"What's the color Lex?" Louis asked with a smile, waiting for her to set her laptop on the island in their kitchen._

 _"Bluebell," Alexis replied. "But we'll stick with the others we picked out if they work."_

 _"You're going to let us look at the other rooms, right?" Castle asked._

 _"We will," Alexis said with a smile, finally getting the program ready and setting up the room._

 _"I like it," Louis said. "Reminds me a bit of Greece in the white and blue. But it is soothing so it works all around here. What about the office here?"_

 _"That we can use the green on," Alexis replied before she picked up her laptop and let her stepmother take it._

 _"It does look nice," Beckett said with a nod. "And this room you said you'd make an office?"_

 _"For us both," Alexis said before they went into the room just off the family room and partially under the stairs to the second floor. She paused and then looked at her father saying, "Dad."_

 _"You needed two desks," Castle said simply as there were two against opposite walls. "If we could have we would have put them together."_

 _"Thank you they'll be… perfect," Louis said with a nod._

 _"Thanks," Alexis said, hugging her father again. "I'm not going to have to keep doing that will I?"_

 _"No that's it," Castle said. "Besides the paint but the walls are all white, aren't they?" When his daughter nodded he said, "Then thank us for the paint but it's a necessity too. Now quick show us the color for your office."_

 _Alexis got her laptop back and once she had it she quickly set up one of the colors and showed her parents. "That's called Argyle and the other…" she said before she worked on the computer again. "Is Reclining Green."_

 _"The Reclining Green is nice," Castle said._

 _"He's right, it's very soothing," Beckett added._

 _"We thought the same, but we do love that Argyle color," Alexis said before smiling at her boyfriend._

 _"The front door?" Louis asked her. When she nodded he smiled and then said, "We'd debated on the color for the door as we can paint it. We'll pick out that one."_

 _"Are you going to use that Bluebell in the entry and up the stairs too?" Castle asked._

 _"And up to the third floor?" Beckett added._

 _Nodding her head Alexis said, "We really like the color." She set the picture of the entry and then the two staircases on the computer and when the two had looked and nodded she said with a smile, "Nothing about it being a lot for one color?"_

 _"No, we're guessing you're going to go with softer colors for the rooms," Beckett commented. "It'll work."_

 _"Now we can go up to the first bedroom," Alexis said with a smile at her father. They headed up, going straight to the bedrooms that would be for anyone that wanted to stay over for the night, not surprised when her stepmother spoke first after looking at what she had ready on the laptop screen._

 _"You didn't paint the master bedroom red?" Beckett asked._

 _"We decided on that color and I wanted something a little lighter this time around," Alexis replied. "Though we did pick out this color together."_

 _"We call it Temple Bar red," Louis said. "Though it's called…"_

 _"Real Red," Alexis said quickly. "We wanted it close to that pub in Dublin."_

 _"No, it looks really close," Castle said with a nod. "And it'll be nice with the bed," he said as it was a darker wood bedstead and pressed against the wall that made up the north wall. "The view will be nice too," he commented._

 _"It is, but come and see the girls' room," Alexis said._

 _"Are you sure you want to have that be their room?" Beckett asked as they walked across the hall._

 _"We're sure," Louis said. "We get the feeling they might want to stay over quite a bit at first."_

 _"Since I was gone for so long," Alexis said, smiling as she was getting the picture of the room with its new paint scheme ready. "And they should like this."_

 _"They will," Beckett said with a smile. The room, like the one across from it was small but it was bright as the windows made up the wall across from it that looked out on the ocean. She then looked at the computer and saw that there was a brighter blue color on the walls. "What color is that?" she asked._

 _"Undercool," Louis said. "Girls might like that name."_

 _"I think so," Castle said. They then walked to the bathroom that was for the two bedrooms and he saw it was a reasonable size, with a nice shower in it, before he recalled something and turned to his daughter when she spoke first._

 _"We're going to paint that one downstairs a blue color that's slightly darker; Major Blue; since outside it is the Bluebell color," Alexis said with a smile as she knew what her father was going to say already. "It works."_

 _"It does," Beckett said since they were looking at the picture of the downstairs bathroom. "What about this one?"_

 _"Calypso," Louis said first._

 _"We need to go to the Caribbean again," Castle said after he and his wife had looked at the picture with the color on the walls. "This is awesome though; I love you've got some bold colors."_

 _"Light colors aren't bad," Alexis said hurriedly to her stepmother._

 _"Remember we have bold at the house too," Beckett said. "Though Rick," she told her husband as they were moving over to the stairs to go up to the third floor._

 _"Yes love?" Castle asked._

 _"I'm feeling the urge to repaint," Beckett commented._

 _"Every room?" Castle said in surprise as they'd repainted some rooms the year before._

 _"Not…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off as they came right into the master bedroom. "This is an impressive first room; in your first place," she said to her stepdaughter and Louis with a smile._

 _"It is," Alexis replied as the room was nearly the size of the house though it was cut off for the en-suite bathroom. "But I love the…" she started to say before she stopped and looked at her father with a slight frown as the bed wasn't in the alcove made for it._

 _"It's not from us, it's from your family Louis," Castle replied, slipping them his phone._

 _Sighing Alexis said, "It's too much but we definitely have to thank them next time you talk to them," to her boyfriend._

 _"I agree," Louis said with a nod, looking at the picture of the four-poster bed that was metal instead of wood. It was a type that Alexis liked but he didn't mind it as they'd been planning; whenever they would get one before that day; to put sheer curtains on it. He shook himself from that line of thought quickly as Castle was speaking since his daughter had embraced him._

 _"We're glad you like it too, but you didn't tell us about your room," Castle was saying._

 _"So you know we'll have the bed here already," Alexis said with a smile, going over to the alcove where they could place the bed against a wall to look out on the ocean in the distance. "And we're thinking of this color," she added as she handed over her laptop to her father._

 _"Yellow, I'm surprised," Castle commented._

 _"It's a nice yellow though," Beckett was quickly to say._

 _"It's called Lily, but we're actually going to paint the bathroom a different color since it's behind the barn door there," Alexis explained, pointing to the door. She took them to the bathroom and even though they'd seen the room in pictures she smiled to see her father hurry inside so he could look around. When her stepmother followed she hurried to get the picture ready with the color they wanted to paint it before she told them, "We're not sure if this works out so hopefully you'll give us your opinion," as she turned the screen around._

 _"You were going for contrasts?" Beckett asked. When the young woman nodded she said, "You've got it with that color."_

 _"This one is Jacaranda," Alexis said, the color a medium hue of blue._

 _"We'll be getting the paint for you," Castle said then._

 _"Dad-" Alexis started to say while they were going out of the room._

 _"No, we'll get it," Castle told them reassuringly. "I know that you're annoyed by the walls and you have some great ideas."_

 _"It's a lot of paint though," Alexis said. "We can buy as we start getting paid."_

 _Beckett glanced at her husband, as the young woman sounded very certain, wondering what his reply would be._

 _"Okay, then why don't we do this," Castle began after having thought that over. "We'll buy the paint for you now and you can pay us back half the amount of it." When Alexis opened her mouth, he held up his hand and said, "Just half and all we ask is that you'll let us have dinners once a month with you; the whole family together."_

 _Alexis couldn't help but smile as she said, "Alright but it might take us a while to pay back the amount."_

 _"It doesn't matter; I know you two are good for it," Castle said. "Plus, we live only a block away."_

 _"You can collect," Louis said with a laugh. "But thank you for this as well, you didn't need to."_

 _"If you ever need a favor…" Alexis then added._

 _"You don't need to do that, but it's nice of you to offer," Beckett replied before they were down in the entry. "Are we still moving the furniture?"_

 _"We are," Alexis said. "Let's get started," she said before going into the family room to start setting everything that was there up the way she and Louis liked it._


	31. Looking Out Into Space (Part 2)

"Julia," Skye said, looking up the girl as she reached her.

"Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose but laughing at the same time as the woman had drawn out her name.

"Sorry, I do that with my girls too," Skye said, reaching for the guitar she held. "So, who has the song request?"

"I do," Beckett said, sitting down next to her. She leaned over and murmured into Skye's ear before she got up and walked to where her husband was sitting cradling Josie.

After telling the name of the song to her wife; who'd sat next to her after Beckett had moved; Skye said, "You'll be alright?"

"Yeah, go ahead and get started," Mary replied, nodding to her.

"Alright, this one is a bit different for us, but we know this song luckily," Skye started to say while she quickly made sure her guitar was in tune. "This one is called _The Times They Are A-Changin'_." With that she began to strum her acoustic, for a bit while Mary was whistling until she began to sing.

When he heard the first lyric Castle looked at his wife, wondering what made her request that one. But she merely smiled at him so he turned his attention back to the two women as Skye was continuing to sing.

 _Come gather 'round people  
Wherever you roam  
And admit that the waters  
Around you have grown  
And accept it that soon  
You'll be drenched to the bone  
If your time to you is worth savin'  
Then you better start swimming' or you'll sink like a stone  
For the times, they are a-changin'_

Mary whistled again though not for very long before she watched her wife playing the guitar until Skye started singing the next verse.

 _Come writers and critics  
Who prophesize with your pen  
And keep your eyes wide  
The chance won't come again  
And don't speak too soon  
For the wheel's still in spin  
And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'  
For the loser now will be later to win  
For the times, they are a-changin'_

 _Come senators, congressmen  
Please heed the call  
Don't stand in the doorway  
Don't block up the hall  
For he that gets hurt  
Will be he who has stalled  
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'  
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls  
For the times, they are a-changin'_

 _Come mothers and fathers  
Throughout the land  
And don't criticize  
What you can't understand  
Your sons and your daughters  
Are beyond your command  
Your old road is rapidly agin'  
Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand  
For the times, they are a-changin'_

 _The line it is drawn  
The curse it is cast  
The slow one now  
Will later be fast  
As the present now  
Will later be past  
The order is rapidly fadin'  
And the first one now will later be last  
For the times, they are a-changin'_

Skye and Mary played and whistled to finish up the song and when they had they glanced at each other before the former said, "Well… something a little peppier I think is in order."

Beckett wasn't surprised when her friend then began to play the song _Drive My Car_ with Mary's help. She felt her husband touch her hand and she leaned toward him, letting him murmur into her ear before she nodded. She knew that Skye wanted to ask her about it herself, but she couldn't as the kids were asking for more songs.

"Alright," the investigator finally said after two more songs. "I need a bit of a break and I'm sure you'll want one last dip." Skye smiled at her daughters and told them all, "Go on, just don't go swimming too far out."

After she had told Julia and Eliza the same, Beckett got up and went over to Skye saying in Russian, " _Something bothered me about that song you sang with_ Paul."

" _About the old times_?" Skye asked in the same language. When her friend nodded she said, " _I had a feeling you might be thinking that; your choice of song confirmed it_."

" _It just felt… not weird but more like things weren't what they used to be_ ," Beckett said to that. " _With the boys I mean; it felt the same with_ Lanie _the little we worked with her_."

Nodding Skye said, " _You've both changed since you left the city of course. But your investigation methods extend to_ Brad's _now instead of the boys'._ "

" _I know_ ," Beckett replied with a sigh. " _But it was nice to get to do that again. Not the murder part but_ …"

"Yeah," Skye said quickly as she knew what she was trying to say. She then said, " _At least now you can focus on your kids_."

" _We all can_ ," Beckett said, standing up with her and letting her go to the water while she turned to her husband who was walking up to her. "She's okay?" she asked while she was looking down at Josie still in his arms.

"She is, we need to get going though love," Castle said.

"I realize," Beckett said, taking the baby. She held Josie against her shoulder and then pressed her lips against the side of her head before she went to her father. "We're going to order dinner," she told him while handing him the baby. "And wait there, she won't need me to nurse her but she might need her diaper changed at some point."

"I'll take care of her," Jim replied.

Though she wanted to say he didn't need to, Beckett knew he wasn't going to budge on that, so she merely cupped the back of Josie's head quickly. Going after her husband to the house she managed to catch up to him, taking his hand before she said, "Should we go back out after we eat?"

"I don't think so," Castle replied. "Brad will need to go in tomorrow so they're not going to stay that late." He then smiled and said, "Funny we ended up at our home in the end."

"It's the beach," Beckett said, squeezing his hand briefly before she had to let him go. When they were inside the kitchen she stood near him, listening to his conversation on the phone with the nearby pizza place before they moved towards one another the second he hung up and set down the receiver.

His arms tight around his wife, Castle kissed her as passionately as he could before he realized things were getting uncomfortable quickly. "Sorry," he said when he pulled away from her. "We… if someone comes inside…"

"True," Beckett said, looking over at the windows. She then smiled and said, "Hard to resist though."

"I know… I feel a little bad for Skye and Mary; and Brad and Lily," Castle commented, pulling her a little closer to him.

Beckett turned her attention to him and brushed her lips against his before she told him, "I think they had to control themselves more than we've made ourselves."

Castle nodded and then said, "I envy them that."

"Me too," Beckett replied with a smile. They kissed again and lingered a little before they slowly parted. "Do you want tonight?"

"I don't know," Castle said honestly. "I wonder if we should wait until we're on our vacation."

"You just want to have sex with me at Disney World," Beckett said, pulling back to look at him though she wasn't obviously angry.

"Make love with you, and yes," Castle said simply. "I've done that in Disneyland so why not there too?"

"Pervert," Beckett said, rolling her eyes.

"And yet you're not letting go of me," Castle pointed out. When she gave him a look he then pulled her to him and began to kiss her hard, not worrying about anyone as he was suddenly desperate for her. The way she responded to him he was relieved that she wasn't annoyed at him for doing that, but he didn't let the kiss linger for very long. "Kate," he breathed out huskily.

"I know love," Beckett said with a smile. She nuzzled her nose against his and told him, "But we should wait… after tonight."

"Can I call you pervert?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said before they kissed gently that time. When they parted she took his hand and drew him outside to the path to the gazebo, knowing that if they didn't stop someone was going to discover them. With the door to the kitchen behind them open they leaned against the railing and she looked over everyone they could see before she said to her husband, "It's too hard to repress."

"It is," Castle agreed readily, leaning over and pressing his lips to her temple. "I love you, you know."

"I love you too," Beckett said, smiling at him. "What brought that on?" she asked, leaning against him.

"Just seeing my mother lifting Josie above her," Castle said.

" _Don't forget you contributed too_ ," Beckett said in Irish.

Scoffing briefly Castle said, " _Just a few seconds effort and you spent_ -"

" _I'm glad you're giving the credit to me but still_ Rick, _we both worked so she could be here_ ," Beckett said. " _Now stop being sappy_."

"Hey," Castle said, straightening up before he smiled as he could tell his wife was joking. He kissed her again before he told her, " _But I can't help it watching her_."

Beckett laughed and nodded in understanding before she heard the chime for the gate. "Let me guess," she said with a smile as her husband was hurrying into the house. "You're hungry."

"I always am," Castle replied easily.

Glancing at him Beckett said, "Is that supposed to be a hint?"

Since he couldn't answer verbally; as he was pressing the button for the gate after making sure it was the pizza; Castle merely nodded before they went to get their meal.

"Mom and Dad left," Julia told her grandparents.

"That must mean the pizza is here," Martha said. She stood up and said, "I think we need to start packing everything up," to the other parents.

Helping them, Julia smiled at her littlest sister in Eliza's arms before she saw her parents walking back to them. "Are we gonna eat?" she asked them.

"We are, it's ready in the dining room," Castle told them.

Since the kids were helping their parents as well it didn't take very long before the beach was cleared, the group walking up to the house as they were talking together at the same time, all of them doing so eagerly until they were finally inside.

* * *

"Mom?"

"What?" Beckett asked, looking over at her daughter.

"This seems really unfair," Julia replied.

"It's alright," Castle said. "We couldn't really look at the stars until now and it's a little bit past everyone else's bedtime."

"Isn't it almost past mine?" Julia asked in confusion.

"Almost and we're not going to take too much longer here," Beckett said with a smile. "You should take another turn."

Nodding Julia went quickly to the telescope that her father had set up on the grass in front of the chairs before she said, "They're so pretty… I wish they weren't really lots of fire and everything."

"You'd want to touch it?" Castle asked in amusement.

"If it didn't hurt me, yeah," Julia said.

"So would I," Castle replied.

Julia laughed and then went to her father, wrapping her arms around his neck saying, "So we're gonna be astronauts?"

"No," Beckett said firmly. "And someone needs to get to bed."

"She means me," Castle said in mock seriousness.

"Yeah," Julia replied, nodding before they started to laugh together. She let him go and she and her mother watched him put away the telescope before they were walking up to the house while she held both their hands. "I'm gonna have to stop doing that huh?" she asked when she had let go of them inside the house.

"No but you don't have to keep doing it if you don't want to," Beckett explained as they watched Castle set the box on the top shelf of the closet.

Julia nodded before she suddenly started to yawn and then said, "I have to go to bed, don't I?"

"I think so," Beckett said with a smile.

"I wanted to write in my diary but…" Julia started to say.

"Tomorrow," Beckett said gently before taking her hand. Once Castle was ready she walked with her husband and daughter up the stairs and to Julia's room. Since her oldest was already dressed in her pajamas and had her teeth brushed she helped her onto the bed, holding up the sheet for her before she got out of the way for Castle.

"Night Dad," Julia said with a smile. "Only… five more days until we go."

"I'm not surprised you said that," Castle replied, smiling himself. "And I'm eager for it. But we're going to spend the rest of the week with the dogs before we go."

"Dog park tomorrow?" Julia asked. When her father nodded she was beaming at him and said, "Good, I can't wait. She hugged him then as tightly as she could before they shared a kiss and she said a little sleepily, "Love you Dad."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before he moved as well.

"What about Josa?" Julia asked her mother as she sat on the edge of the bed with her.

"What about her?" Beckett said with slight confusion.

"Are you gonna spend time with her too?" Julia asked.

"Because she can't go on the rides?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded she smiled and said, "We will, but with you guys too. There are going to be a lot of us again at the parks and in DC, so we might not get to spend a lot of time with you. Though I'm sure we'll split up by families occasionally." She leaned over and shared a kiss with Julia telling her, "Now you need to go to sleep."

Smiling the girl wrapped her arms around her and said, "I will, love you Mom."

"Love you sweetie," Beckett said, embracing her as well. When they let each other go she helped Julia lay down and tucked her in before she and Castle said goodnight to her. She let her husband lead her out of the room once they saw their oldest had fallen asleep and made their way together downstairs where they heard music coming from the piano in the living room.

"I don't know, we're already using the word green," Skye was saying to Mary as they were sitting at the piano. "What if… 'grown from land so pure?'"

"If this is really going to be a love song to Ireland that's a good phrase," Castle commented, getting the attention of the two.

"Sorry, we were going to come down to get some tea and we could hear you," Beckett then told them.

"It's alright," Skye said. "And yeah it's for the song but we're a bit stuck… I suppose we should shelve things for now?"

"Yeah, how's everyone doing?" Mary said as she put the papers aside.

"Either asleep or in their rooms," Beckett said first. "Are you going to join us?"

"I'd like to play a bit," Skye replied as she was standing up. "On my guitar I have here already. Mary do you mind?"

"No," the woman said with a smile.

"I'll get yours love," Castle told his wife.

Though she wanted to say he didn't need to, Beckett nodded her thanks and turned to Skye, seeing she had her blue Fender around her and she was beginning to strum on it. "Are you going to play now or just chords?" she asked.

"No, just chords," the investigator replied. "But there is a song I want to practice so it'll be those notes for now."

Beckett smiled, as she could tell it wasn't a request from her husband or herself but something that Skye wanted to do. So she watched her playing the song through though she made a few mistakes until their spouses returned to them with tea.

"Still having trouble?" Mary asked her wife.

"Slightly," Skye said wryly. "Think we can run through this?"

"I think so, what's the song?" Castle commented.

"Hold on," Mary said, going over to the piano. "This one is a little bit faster so hopefully that won't bother the kids."

"I'll get the door," Castle said, getting up and going over to it.

Playing her guitar while Mary started on the piano Skye waited until she reached the point she needed to begin the first verse.

 _You're my baby, and I love you  
You can take a pound of love  
And cook it in the stew_

 _When you've finished doing that  
I know what you'll want to do  
Cos you're my baby and I love you_

 _I'm your baby, do you love me  
I can drive a Cadillac across the Irish Sea  
But when I've finished doing that  
I know where I'll want to be  
Cos I'm your baby and you love me_

Beckett was startled when Mary started to sing the chorus and glanced over at Skye before she saw the woman was watching her wife. She suddenly recalled that in the recording of the song Denny Laine had sung the verses while Paul had taken the chorus and she smiled at the difference in tone.

 _Spirits of ancient Egypt  
Shadows of ancient Rome  
Spirits of ancient Egypt  
Hung on the telly  
Hung on the telly  
Hung on the telephone_

 _You're my baby  
I know you know  
You could sell an elevator  
To Geronimo  
And you're finished doing that  
I know where you'll want to go  
Cos you're my baby, I know you know_

Skye played her guitar as oddly as she could though she couldn't quite get it to match the recording. But she didn't worry about it as soon after she looked over at her wife who would finish singing on the chorus.

 _Spirits of ancient Egypt  
Echoes of sunken Spain  
Spirits of ancient Egypt  
Hung on the phone- a  
Hung on the phone- a  
Hung on the phone again…_

The instrumental after that didn't last long, and Beckett applauded with Castle once the two women were finished. "I take it you managed to play without the mistake?" she asked Skye with a smile as the two women were giving each other high fives.

"I did, but if that'll last I'll have to see," the investigator replied before she stood up. "Well, we're tired and we'd like to spend some time with our girls at the park so we'll see you in the morning."

"Alright," Beckett said, standing herself. She embraced Skye quickly before doing the same with Mary and told them, "Thanks for the performance again. And earlier too."

"You're welcome, night," Skye told them before she and Mary left clutching at each other's hands tightly.

"Did you finish your tea?" Castle asked his wife.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "But I think it's very cold now."

Taking a sip of his Castle nodded and said, "Cold it is. Want me to warm it up for you?"

"That would be nice," Beckett replied, getting up and following him down to the kitchen. She sat at the island and said, "There's something I wanted to tell you love."

"Okay," Castle said, looking at her in slight surprise.

Beckett smiled briefly at him; so he wouldn't think it was something serious; and she told him what she'd talked to Skye about once her friend had sung the Dylan song earlier. "I just feel guilty though, we were partners for a long time and then…" she said when she'd finished relating, seeing her husband was obviously thinking that over as he handed her her mug.

"It's true though, we've grown apart from them in a way because we're not working with them anymore," Castle said, standing next to her chair and taking her hand. Squeezing it very gently he said, "Though of course we can still investigate."

"It's just now we're with Brad we work smoothly with him," Beckett said.

Nodding Castle said, "And since we're going to continue working with him-"

"It's better we still do," Beckett supplied. When he nodded again she sighed and then said, "I guess it's that whole thought that people don't like change."

"They don't but you know it was great to get to work with the boys again," Castle said.

"And Lanie," Beckett was quick to add.

"And Lanie," Castle echoed her with a smile. He finished his tea then and asked, "What should we do now?"

"Come on," Beckett said, getting off the chair and reaching for his hand. She wasn't surprised when he stopped her, and she watched him taking the mugs over to the sink before rinsing them out. When he was back with her she made him stop from taking her into his arms before she kissed his cheek. With that done she took him over to the stairs and they headed up together, going to their bedroom where she waited for him to close and lock the door. "Did you have something in mind?" she asked him.

"Nothing all that… strenuous," Castle said. " _Béal agus lámha_ ," he told her.

"Pervert," Beckett said wryly as he'd told her mouth and hands.

"You don't want to?" Castle asked.

"Get on the bed," Beckett told him firmly before she went over to it herself. Hearing him following her she took off her sundress and was about to do the same with the top of her bikini when she felt his hands on her waist. "You're-" she started to say before she was cut off by the way her husband was kissing at her shoulders. A second later he moved her hair aside and she tilted her neck to give him access to it quickly. A moan escaped her lips before a gasp followed as his hand was slipping underneath her bikini bottoms. "Wait," she said, turning to him quickly.

"Oh?" Castle asked, unable to help ogling her body hungrily.

"Rick," Beckett said, reaching up to tilt his head up by the chin. "Take off your clothes now."

"Sure," Castle said, wondering why her voice was so tense. But he didn't try to ask her, instead he took off his shirt and trunks before he was suddenly pushed over to the bed. "Kate?" he asked her.

"You didn't guess?" Beckett said with a smile as her husband was pushing himself back onto the bed.

"Me first?" Castle asked though his eyes were on her body as she was removing her bikini.

"Do you have any objections?" Beckett replied with a question while she climbed up on the mattress.

"Oh no," Castle said, grabbing for her as he laid back. He wrapped his arms around her while they began to kiss and then caressed her body until she pulled away. "Am I staying like this?"

"Will you sit on the edge of the bed?" Beckett asked him swiftly. When he hesitated, she smiled and then said, "I think you should stay like that then." She leaned down and kissed him hungrily, sliding her tongue smoothly into his mouth before they were dueling together there for some time until she parted from him. Their tongues dragging out into the air together she flicked hers to his, smiling at his groan before she moved to his neck, kissing at it hard before she went to his chest. She kissed over that, focusing a few times on his nipples until he was pulling her off him.

"I needed…" Castle started to say before he trailed off as his wife was sliding down his abdomen before stopping where his erection was resting. He watched her consider it for a moment before she kissed over it without touching it. "Ah… Kate," he groaned as she didn't stop once she'd reached the base of it.

Though she didn't want to, Beckett moved back so she could ask her husband, "Mind if I play?"

"It's better if you don't," Castle said, reaching for her so he could touch her while he spoke. "I want to last a little bit at least."

Nodding Beckett then moved up so she could murmur into his ear and when he jerked away from her slightly she smiled and said, "I should be able to do that at least."

"Just… a few times," Castle said before gulping. He was watching her closely then as she slid right down to his groin again, kissing below his member twice before pausing. He was relieved she did that as he needed a second to recover before she kissed him a third time and he grabbed her. "Okay, that's enough," he gasped out in joy. "Just… do something else."

Though she knew she could tease him, Beckett decided it wouldn't really help things and she merely kissed him before moving down again. That time she took his erection with her hand, pulling it up so she could slide her mouth over the tip of him. She felt him shift in reaction instantly and let her tongue move around him a little before she pulled back so he was out of her mouth.

"Fuck!" Castle swore when his wife blew on his skin that was moist from her quick ministrations. But she didn't do that for very long and he was groaning in literal relief before she was taking him with her mouth yet again. He tried not to, but he couldn't stop himself from grabbing her, his hand taking her hair before he let go but let it rest on top of her head. "Love… I… don't…" he breathed out, not realizing what he was saying at first. He only did when his wife pulled away from him rapidly and he hissed out her name in disappointment though he was curious to see if she would do something as she had before; getting his answer very shortly after he thought of that.

Moving up to her husband Beckett laid directly on top of him before she kissed him a second before he was grabbing onto her. They were a little busy with that, so she almost forgot what she was going to say when they parted but then quickly recovered. "Should I just…" she began.

"Did you want to?" Castle asked, schooling his body at the same time to not start thrusting against her though he was almost desperate to.

Shaking her head Beckett then said, "I won't take you all-"

"You don't need to," Castle said quickly. "Be careful," he then said as she got off him, unable to keep the eagerness out of his voice. When she paused and glanced at him he didn't say anything, not thinking he needed to though he was about to tell her he could switch them when she moved again.

Taking her husband into her mouth, Beckett didn't waste much time in beginning to bob her head up and down on him. As he groaned out in pleasure instantly she was using her tongue at the same time, making some sounds as well. She knew she was playing with fire doing that, but she wanted to make the most of the time she had. So involved with what she was doing, when she suddenly felt her husband beginning to climax she jerked back a little in surprise. But she managed to stay where she was until he finished, listening to his pleasure until he stopped moving and she could pull away. "Sorry," she said before she bit at her lower lip.

Grunting, Castle opened his eyes and said with a smile, "You're not but I'm happy to please you in doing that."

"That sounded weird," Beckett said with a slight laugh.

"You know what I meant," Castle said, reaching for her. Once she was laying against him he said, "Now the problem becomes you. I want to pleasure you, but I want my fair share too."

" _Beidh ort é a dhéanamh arís_ ," Beckett said seductively, cupping his cheek. She cried out when he suddenly flipped her around onto her back, but she wasn't surprised in the end since she'd told him he'd just have to do it again. She became a little breathless with the way he was staring at her but soon he leaned down to kiss her before she was responding with both her lips and tongue as her heart began to race in pleasure again at his touch.

Running his hands around his wife's body, Castle was avoiding her sex as much as he could until they were parting breathlessly. He couldn't wait, and he began to brush his fingers against her clit before he nearly flew down to it. He heard his wife's cry, her back arching at the same time, so he reached for her legs pulling them over his shoulders. He didn't hesitate, knowing she wouldn't want him to, lapping at her clit a few times while he heard her nails raking at the sheet under her. " _Tá tú foirfeachta_ ," he told her huskily before he began to move.

Gasping out both her pleasure and arousal, Beckett couldn't help but feel touched at his compliment that she was perfection. But it was short lived as he was almost burying his face between her legs. His tongue was sweeping around her, searching for something she couldn't really figure out, the sensation of his touch was like a bolt of pleasure within her body. She didn't know how long she'd be able to last, so she reached down to caress his hair before he was raising his head. "Rick," she breathed out in joy as he moved up to her; as she had done; though he didn't stop touching her since he was using his hand. They kissed and after parting she said, "Do you want to stop?"

"No, I told you I wanted my fair share," Castle replied easily before he brushed his lips against his wife's and then descended on her again. He went straight back to what he was doing; not intending to stop that time; and he used both his mouth and hand to try and push her the final bit he needed. He should have been startled when she broke shortly after he started up on her fully again, but he was too busy taking everything in. He felt her moving, undulating against the pleasure he was making her feel, tasted her satisfaction and could hear his name on her lips. Finally, she stilled and he finished before he slid up to her, taking her within his arms as he waited for her to recover.

When she felt a little stronger Beckett turned slightly so she could face her husband straight on. "Are you ready?" she asked him.

"To-" Castle started to say before he paused as she was kissing at his jaw. He dropped his desire to joke that she should have been able to tell he was as her hand was lightly caressing his chest. He leaned down so he could kiss her deeply and while their tongues were tangling together he raised her leg enough so he could press against her, on his side as well. He groaned while she cried out the second their groins touched, and he kissed her a bit harder until they slowly parted and smiled before he gently had her lay on her back. "Kate…" he breathed out in pleasure.

Beckett took her husband's hand, leading it down to her sex and making him touch her with his fingers before she then moved her hand to the back of his neck. "It won't take me long," she warned him.

" _Lig dom grá a thanhairt duit_ ," Castle murmured to her, asking her to let him make love to her.

" _Le do thoil_ ," Beckett breathed out. At her simple use of the word please she wasn't surprised when he moved, sliding inside of her very shortly after. Since she hadn't tried to stop herself from enjoying his touch before she was already prepared for him and she was breathing a little more roughly when he was sheathed fully within her. "Don't take too long," she said to her husband as he was remaining still above her.

He'd been about to speak but Castle held back as she was wrapping her leg around his waist and he shifted from side to side which made them both curse in Irish at the literal explosion of pleasure that provided. "I won't," he breathed out in joy once they'd calmed down.

Beckett let out a soft gasp as he began to move and that swiftly turned into a moan when he was slow pulling back and then thrusting back in. She moved her hands to grasp at the backs of his shoulders and closed her eyes tightly as he breathed out hard against her neck in response to her touch. Because he was going so slowly she was feeling every inch of him though her arousal didn't allow her to feel his length in detail. But she didn't really care as she was doing what she had wanted to finally and she had to tell him, "If we could have… I would have made you fuck me in the water."

"I know," Castle groaned as he thrust slightly faster into her once and then stopped. That made them both jerk from the rush it provided between their bodies; he was aware; and he swore before he spoke again. "I'm going to do that at the end… I m-mean… can I?"

"Yes," Beckett sighed, tilting her head back. When her husband began to thrust a little harder she murmured, "You need to… let me have a turn."

"You didn't think I would?" Castle asked, using that moment to alter between slower and slightly faster thrusts. He watched her then, loving the way she would react to him, but he couldn't do that for long as the unending pleasure was forcing him to close his eyes tightly. He fought to keep them open, but it became more difficult and he said, "Can I stop?"

"No, if you do you'll…" Beckett started to say before she couldn't finish as he was moving around again and getting deeper within her. "Oh… Rick, please!" she moaned heavily.

"I won't stop love," Castle hissed as he moved faster. That time he decided not to slow down except for here and there and he could tell she was enjoying the feeling as her nails were nearly digging down into his skin.

Her husband's lips on her were a great startle to Beckett and she was tried to be swift to respond to him before he was stopping. Hearing his apology, she stopped him by putting her hand on his mouth; since he was above her; and said, "It was needed."

"I swear I was going to make love to you," Castle replied to that, kissing her fingertips. "Slowly," he added swiftly.

"I know but sometimes it's really nice to forget your plans," Beckett said. She was a little startled when her husband was staring at her intently and she asked, "What?"

Castle didn't say a word, instead he moved to thrust and was doing so very carefully and deliberately, staying above her for as long as he could. But finally, he couldn't resist the obvious delight that was masking her face and he moved down to her, thrusting rapidly again as he had before. "Is that what you want Kate?" he breathed into her ear. "My cock deep in your pussy, fucking it until we come."

About to answer, Beckett was crying out in pleasure suddenly which forestalled her response and since it didn't end with him beginning to nibble at her ear lobe she couldn't speak for some time. But finally, he stopped to murmur in her ear and she only needed to deal with his body so rough against hers. "Yes I… I can't… I just want to feel you like this. You're filling my pussy so deep with your cock my love I want to keep feeling you!"

"You will, I can't stop my love," Castle replied before he was suddenly moving them. He was overjoyed when she took over thrusting immediately and he held onto the small of her back as tightly as he could while the friction between them was a burning intensity he didn't want to stop. He kissed her hard and with her there to meet him they were doing that for some time until they were parting with a gasp and he froze when she started to pull him down to her chest. "What're you doing?" he asked in shock.

"We can always-" Beckett started to say.

Shaking his head Castle then kissed her as hard as he could before he slowly pulled away from her to say, "Soon love, just let us…"

"Then fuck me again; please," Beckett begged him. When he looked at her doubtfully she nodded and raked her nails over his scalp before he flipped them back around. Since he wasn't moving yet she could smile as she raised her head and then kissed him telling him, "Thank you." She expected him to reply though he kissed her instead of speaking and she responded until he pulled back and whispered to her lovingly with his forehead pressed against hers.

"I need to…" Castle started to say before he stopped. Before she could protest he was kissing her again when he suddenly felt her clenching around his length. After swearing briefly, he started to thrust again, and he said, "Then we're going to come Kate," his voice husky with desire.

"I know, I want to," Beckett gasped, turning her head to the side. She'd had her legs around him when she'd been on her back again but at that moment she moved them lower so she could press her heels against his ass. "Does- does that hurt?" she asked, gasping a bit while speaking.

"No," Castle was breathing out hard. He looked at her intently before he said, "I think…" But what he was thinking he found he couldn't really put into words as his wife drew him down to her. They began to kiss deeply, and he was trying to do that as well as still move within her. He let all of that distract him until she was breaking away from him with a heavy cry.

"Rick! I'm… I'm going to come… please!" Beckett was crying out heavily, trying to hold onto him and raking her nails on his skin again. When he crushed her lips with his own she froze for a moment before she was responding though it didn't last for very long. She was orgasming and roughly, her husband's deep thrust suddenly setting her off and making her lose all control. Everything within her was throbbing and she was clinging to him even harder as she was a little lost to herself. But when her husband joined her; calling her name as she'd been doing with his; she was brought back to him and she focused on him as closely as possible until her pleasure ceased. She didn't stop enjoying her husband though, feeling his rough thrusts as he was obviously desperate for something but couldn't quite get it as he was stopping with a shudder.

Feeling her caressing his hair Castle groaned slightly and said, "Can we take back our apologies?"

"Yeah," Beckett said with a smile. She lost that though when her husband pulled away from her and sighed before she turned to him but didn't let him take her in his arms to his obvious surprise.

"You don't want to again?" Castle asked her, watching her sitting up.

"We should get dressed and get some sleep," Beckett replied simply.

"Are you sure?" Castle replied. When his wife briefly glanced at him he said, "Then that's a great idea."

Beckett rolled her eyes but tossed him his pajamas before she took hers and put on her panties and pajama pants before slipping on her top. "Rick," she said firmly as she'd been watching him watching her dress.

"Sorry," Castle said though he wasn't very sincere. He moved and tried not to react to the slight twinge of his knee before he was standing up. The second he took a step to turn back around to the bed he was nearly collapsing to the floor and cursing at the pain in his knee.

"Rick!" Beckett cried as she rushed to him from where she'd been walking to the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

"I…" Castle said while she helped him getting up. "Yeah my knee just… it was too much."

"I'll get your brace," Beckett said in concern.

"No, wait, I can-" Castle started to say, beginning to walk after her when he almost fell and gave up, sitting down hard on the bed. "Kate-" he then started to say when she opened the drawer where he kept his brace.

"You got a new one," Beckett stated as she was holding a new one in her hands, looking pointedly at her husband. "Without telling me," she added as he ran his hand over his face. "And after telling me Dr. Keelan said it was only slightly worse," waiting then to see what response he would have to that.

"Look, I didn't want to worry you-" Castle started to say.

"Worry me? And you don't think seeing you almost fall would do that?" Beckett said as she did her best not to throw the brace on the bed next to him.

Castle couldn't really respond to that as she was right, so he merely said, "I should have-" before he stopped himself seeing that she was leaving him. When he saw her intention was the door he stood up carefully asking, "Where are you going?"

"Since you obviously don't trust me I prefer staying with Josie tonight," Beckett said.

"Kate-" Castle said when his wife closed the door. Since most everyone in the house was likely asleep she didn't slam it, but he still winced as if she had and he sighed before he turned to grab his pajamas.

Instead of going to their baby's room, Beckett headed straight downstairs and out the door to the backyard in search of some fresh air. When she reached the chairs she paused, breathing out hard once before she sat down. She knew she shouldn't have left, but she was more hurt by his being secretive about his health than she really wanted to admit. Sitting back then she looked at the waves breaking in front of her and closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them quickly and stood up, turning to go back into the house. "Rick," she said, slightly started at the sight of her husband behind her as she hadn't heard him at all.

"I'm sorry Kate," Castle told her with as much seriousness that he could infuse into his tone. "I should have told you and I don't blame you for being angry."

"And hurt," Beckett said softly.

Hearing that Castle felt his heart sink before he walked around her carefully and then set the mug of tea he was holding onto the table.

"Tell me why," Beckett said when he turned to her. "Why you wouldn't let me know you needed a stronger brace for your knee."

Sitting down Castle sighed heavily and then said, "First I didn't want you to get worried. Essentially my knee's okay, it just needs more support or else it'll start getting a lot worse."

"Are you supposed to wear it all the time?" Beckett replied.

Breathing out Castle said, "Yeah, even when I swim, but not when I bathe."

"Rick," Beckett sighed.

Taking a moment before he spoke again Castle looked up at his wife and then held his hand out to her saying, "I promise I'll wear it now love."

"But you still haven't answered my question; at least not fully," Beckett said firmly, knowing he was trying to get her to sit but not allowing him yet.

"Vanity in a way," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when she looked at him in confusion and he carefully pulled on her hand until she moved to sit on his lap. He resisted the urge to hug her and instead said, "Has Lily ever talked to you about Brad doing something strange like this?"

"No," Beckett said slowly.

Breathing out; a little frustrated she didn't have an idea; Castle then said, "We're both the same age and you and Lily are the same age. So we both have this mindset that we need to make sure we're… virile enough for you both. _I_ want to make sure you're happy with me even though I'm so much older than you," watching her to see her reaction.

"It's only six years Rick," Beckett said, squeezing his hand gently as she knew that he was being serious. "It's not that much and you know I'm going to be forty shortly."

Shaking his head Castle said, "It's different for men love and I don't want anything to happen to me for your sake."

Pausing for a moment Beckett looked at him closely and said, "This is because of what I did after my mother was killed isn't it." She wasn't surprised her husband shifted slightly on the chair and she said, "Then this is my fau-"

"No, no it's not," Castle said as quickly as he could, holding onto her a little more tightly. "That's a reaction that people can have when they lose someone they love, it's not specific to you."

"I know that," Beckett said, trying not to sound like she was exasperated. "But because I told you that-"

"Then you wouldn't want me to try to make sure you wouldn't shut me out," Castle stated instead of asking.

" _Touché_ ," Beckett said. "But the point is Rick that you don't need to worry about your age because we're not so far apart. You don't need to worry about your looks because you're still incredibly attractive to me. And last you don't need to worry about your virility in concern to me; I think we just proved that."

"You knew I was thinking that?" Castle asked though he was hugging her a little by the time she stopped speaking.

"It was a given," Beckett said wryly.

"I really am sorry," Castle said.

"I'm aware," Beckett replied. When her husband embraced her fully she did the same back to him and told him, "Don't do that to me again."

"I won't, I think I was okay but…" Castle said before he trailed off as he didn't want to say why he likely hurt his knee earlier.

"You were lunging, I could feel that," Beckett said. "So you're going to have to listen and wear that brace." When he nodded she reached down to it and said, "Is it uncomfortable?"

"Not enough that I'd rip it off," Castle replied, watching her. "I'll have to get used to it. But it's not going to scare the girls?"

"We'll explain to them that it's there to help you," Beckett said. They were quiet then, watching the waves in front of them and she leaned against him before she murmured, "I wasn't really going to go."

"I upset you, so I would have had you stay in our room," Castle said, knowing she was referring staying the night in Josie's room. "I would have gone to her room."

"I don't think it would have happened," Beckett said with a slight smile.

"Did you realize we haven't been apart since my book tour?" Castle asked her.

Beckett nodded and then said, "Hopefully that's a sign of a healthy relationship."

Castle was about to speak in protest when he stopped at the smile on her face which made him say, "Why do I keep falling for that?"

"Who knows," Beckett said, moving to try to get up when he stopped her. "Bed?"

"Eventually," Castle replied easily. He wasn't surprised when she looked down at him for that and said, "Never mind."

"No, it's alright," Beckett said quickly as her husband was starting to help her up. Before he could react to that she leaned down and kissed him, starting out slowly at first before he was responding, and they deepened it together. She ended it eventually to breathe, watching her husband as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her. When he didn't say anything, she was about to ask him what was wrong when he suddenly grasped her desperately and kissed her again.

Though he had known his wife would respond to him, Castle was still relieved when she did. He reached up to her and gently cupped the back of her head with both his hands, sliding his fingers through her hair until they were parting again. He didn't move back enough to need to let go of her, staying close so their lips would brush together. "Are you still mad at me?" he murmured.

"Slightly," Beckett replied, pressing her forehead to his.

"Okay… so Josie's room?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett said with a slight laugh as she pulled away. "Just promise me you won't do that again."

"I won't," Castle said seriously.

Since his tongue had conveyed he wouldn't Beckett then moved to something else she wanted to ask him saying, "Do you and Brad really talk about that?"

"Sometimes," Castle said. "Not with David since he and Rebecca are the same age, though he does understand the worry… if that makes sense." When his wife nodded he then said, "But yeah when we first met up again one night we went to a bar together and eventually talk turned to the fact that you two were younger than us. And that led to the fact that we were both in our forties and you two were not," as he was able to remember that swiftly.

* * *

 _"Does it ever," Brad started to say before he paused and then continued. "Bother you?"_

 _"What?" Castle asked._

 _"Our wives' age and our age," Brad said simply._

 _"It does," Castle said with a nod. "I didn't think you would though, you've been with Lily for ages."_

 _Brad smiled slightly and then said, "That doesn't mean I'm not still going to be concerned I'll… go to pot."_

 _"Go… what?" Castle asked in confusion._

 _"Lose my looks or… something like that," Brad said before he buried his face in his hands. "That sounds so shallow," he said when he looked up again._

 _"I know what you mean," Castle said. "Don't look at me like that," he said when his friend was looking at him with wide eyes. "Do you know how long I waited, wanted to be with Kate? I don't want to screw it up. Actually, that sounds less shallow."_

 _"Alright then we make a pact, no screwing things up," Brad said._

 _"Agreed," Castle said. "Because our wives… wait."_

 _"No, say it," Brad assured him quickly. "I know you'll be thinking of your wife and I'll be thinking of mine. But they are smart-"_

 _"And funny," Castle added._

 _"Fierce and loving mothers," Brad pointed out._

 _"And insanely hot," Castle finished. He and his friend nodded to each other and tapped their bottles together saying, "Cheers," in unison._

* * *

"No reaction?" Castle asked his wife when he finished, and she didn't say anything.

"I'm not really all that surprised so what do I have to say besides what I just did," Beckett replied with a smile.

"Fair enough," Castle replied. "Though really, we never kept up with each other on that promise, we're taking care of ourselves on our own."

Beckett nodded and said, "I can tell, being around you two as much as I am I would have heard a mention of something by now."

"You would have," Castle said. He kissed her when she did so to him but was soon standing up with her after she got up. "But you do understand, right?"

"I know," Beckett said, taking his hand. "But you do understand you don't need to be concerned."

"Yes, but I still will be," Castle replied. He smiled when his wife laughed and wrapped his arms around her as she hugged him. He kissed the side of her head before she pulled away so he could look at her and said, "Let's check on the girls before we go to our bed."

Though she wanted to tease him for what she knew was his insistence on the word our, Beckett nodded before they were kissing tenderly. They lingered that time before they parted, and she murmured in Irish, " _I do the same for you_."

" _You don't need to_ ," Castle replied immediately, aware she was referencing his concern about their age difference. " _You're a goddess, my goddess_."

" _Then you know how I feel about you_ ," Beckett said firmly. She couldn't help smiling as he appeared about to speak before he simply started to smile as well. She brushed her lips against his telling him, " _It's why we're coming up on six years_."

" _And why you're the love of my life_ ," Castle said hurriedly.

Beckett laughed gently before she murmured, " _You're the love of mine_ ," as they leaned into each other. She momentarily wondered why she'd said something a little corny but from the way her husband kissed and held her she knew he'd been touched by the compliment. When they had parted she whispered, "I love you Rick," their foreheads pressed together.

"I love you too Kate," Castle replied. He initiated another kiss though it didn't last as long as the previous one before he was taking her hand so they could make their way up to their home.

The couple was silent as they walked though their fingers were entwined tightly while each thought of their upcoming anniversary, though they also thought a bit about their forthcoming family vacation. They exchanged one last kiss on the threshold of the house before they went in and closed the door behind them; conveying without a word how much they were both looking forward to the seventeenth of the next month already.


End file.
